The American and the Martian
by noblecrescent
Summary: A simple collection of one-shots and AU's for Minerva and the Doctor, based off the Monsoon Seasons. Come and see what they're up to 'behind the scenes' or see the 'what if's' of the AU's!
1. A Painted Experience

_Author's Note:_

 _Hello! Welcome to the beginning of my one-shot collections involving the Doctor and (my OC) Minerva Souza. The following one-shots will either be certain scenes that aren't included in their actual stories ( Next Stop Everywhere, Star-Crossed, & future to come) or AU plots. I will notify which is which at the start of each chapter. Each chapter will vary in length; it will depend on the idea or plot I have._

* * *

 _The following is a one-shot of the moment when Minerva & the Doctor met Leonardo Da Vinci. _

_For any readers of the actual stories concerning the pair above, this moment would be set after The Runaway Bride and before __Smith & Jones._

 _Enjoy!_

* * *

"Alright, Queen Isabella II, that's an easy one!" the Doctor declared as he went around the console, punching controls here and there as he set the needed coordinates.

"Better be!" he heard the shout of Minerva from the corridors.

"You done yet? When I said get changed for the period I meant change _clothes_ , not your entire body!" he shook his head.

Minerva wanted to meet a queen desperately and so the Doctor decided to bring her to a Spanish Queen, specifically Queen Isabella II. He suggested she'd go and change for the period or she'd be imprisoned for her 'lack' of clothes as Rose was once declared to be by Queen Victoria. But Minerva had taken _far_ too long to change into a simple dress.

"Oi, I'm meeting _royalty_ ," Minerva came into the console room with her hands on her hips, "I have to be presentable. So, am I?"

He turned to look at her and found her wearing a dress that looked... _lovely_ on her. He softly smiled and nodded, "You look wonderful."

Minerva was dressed in a baby-blue gown that went down to the floor. It was an in off-the-shoulder neckline with, the same blue color, rose design over the neckline (both front and back) and finally a box-pleaded skirt. Her hair was left down with a blue headband pushing back her hair off her face.

She smiled back and moved forwards, "Then let's go meet a queen!"

"Right!" the Doctor turned to the console, "Allonsy!"

"Stupid word!" Minerva exclaimed as she clung to the console once the TARDIS had started shaking.

He rolled his eyes but didn't make a comeback. Once the TARDIS had stopped, he grabbed his coat off the rails and hurried for the door.

"Thanks for waiting," Minerva walked after him, "Ever the gentleman."

"Oh shush and go," he opened the door for her.

She gave a courteous bow and walked out first. She stepped onto a cobblestone pathway and looked around, already making a face of resignation.

"You made a mistake," she declared as the Doctor stepped out beside her.

"How do you mean?" he was busy putting on his coat to see their environment.

Minerva gestured to the place around them, "Does this look like Queen Isabella II's palace to you?"

He looked up and saw a busy street, certainly of historical times but...looking much more in the past than he intended, "Oh..." he mumbled.

"Well, better see where we are," Minerva sighed and started walking ahead.

"We could always go back!" the Doctor exclaimed, hurrying behind her.

He actually really wanted to bring Minerva somewhere nice again. He'd been working hard to get to know her and bring her to the places she always had wanted to see. When she had, rather shyly, asked him if they could meet a queen, he'd been more than delighted to bring her. Ever since Rose had been lost to the parallel world, the Doctor had made it his sole purpose to get to know the woman that now traveled with him and show her the wonders of the universe. It was rather fun to be around Minerva, he discovered.

"Nah, it's alright," Minerva waved him off, "This usually how things go better for us. But let's try to see where we are," she then noticed the dirty looks people were giving her, "And maybe find me a shawl," she hugged herself.

The Doctor noticed the looks but laughed, "Ah don't worry about them, they'll get over it. C'mon, let's go look around," he tugged her by the hand and led her who knows where.

~ 0 ~

"Doctor? Are you here? Doctor?" Minerva poked her head into a new street, frowning when she saw no sign of that Martian. She turned the corner and walked slowly, and cautiously, through the Italian street.

It had turned out they were in Italy, 1482 to be exact. This was _far_ from where Minerva had wanted to go to but Italy was just as nice as Spain would've been. She always did love the Renaissance though she preferred the Rococo era. Perhaps she'd ask the Doctor to take her there soon. But in the meantime, she should probably focus on _finding_ him first. She'd only entered a little clothing shop for a couple minutes in attempt to find a shawl to cover her bare shoulders, people still giving her odd looks here and there, but when she'd exited the shop empty handed she found the Doctor was no where to be seen. She supposed he'd probably wandered off, but never too far seeing she didn't know the place at all. This was the second street she tried and even if it was only a small amount of time she'd been searching, she was still nervous. They'd only been properly traveling for a little while and she was still trying to find her place in it, the wandering off rule momentarily sacred to her.

She stopped by a craft's shop and poked her head inside, "Doctor?" she called softly, not wanting to attract more dirty looks as she walked inside.

She looked around at the shelves that surrounded the place, filled with all kinds of oddities. Still, when she found painting accessories she was more than enthralled that she had actually forgotten her search of a Martian. She picked up paint brushes and turned them around, feeling the thin brushes, some thick. She never actually attempted to paint but it was always an interest she'd like to take one day.

"My dear, are you going to be purchasing that?"

She flinched at the sound of a man's voice beside her and dropped the brush to the floor, "S-sorry!" she quickly bent to pick up the brush but the man stopped her and picked up the brush for her, "Th-thanks..." she blinked rapidly when she saw just who that man was, "...oh my god..."

Standing before her was none other than _Leonardo Da Vinci_ , or as Minerva knew him 'one of the greatest artists she'd ever loved'. He appeared to be middle-aged, maybe early thirties with dark brown eyes and brown hair, that notorious long beard on its way.

"Will you be purchasing this? Or shall I have it?" the man joked as he waved the brush.

"Um...n-no, I won't. I was just...looking at it," she breathed with a big grin on her face, "Oh my god you're Leonardo Da Vinci!"

"And you are quite beautiful," he tapped her cheek with the brush, making her chuckle, "What is a young maiden doing here on her own?"

"I was looking for a friend," she suddenly remembered she was short one alien, "You haven't perhaps seen him? He's about this high," she got on her toes and put her arm high up as she mimicked the Doctor's height, making the man laugh, "Brown eyes and hair, big brown coat too?"

"Don't think so," Da Vinci shook his head.

"Oh...okay then," she didn't have any words for the painter. She just stared at him in awe instead, really grasping the idea that one of the greatest artists was standing before her.

"Would you like some help in your search for this friend?" he asked her, setting the brush back on the shelf.

"You would help me?" her eyes half-widened.

"Of course. I shall not allow such a woman to be on her own with these foul men around."

"But you probably came in to buy something. You wanted the brush, remember?" she picked up the brush again and held it to him, "I don't want to distract you when you probably have a lot of paintings to paint."

"Nonsense, I was only gathering some things for my trip. I'm due at Milan soon."

"Oh right," she nodded, "Milan. You've been sent to the duke of Milan."

"Word travels fast, I see," he took the brush and set it back where he'd placed it, "But that's not until next week. I can gather my supplies another day. Come now," he linked an arm with her, chuckling at her wide eyes, "Where did you last see your friend?"

"Um...um..." she looked away for a second to recollect herself, "...he, um, he was on the other street," she pointed in a random direction, "In front of a clothing shop, yeah," she nodded.

"Then let's begin the search there," and he led her out of the shop, "What is the name of the maiden I am helping?"

"Minerva Souza," she recited immediately.

"Then it would be my pleasure to help you, Minerva."

"Eek," she squeaked and the man simply laughed.

~ 0 ~

"Minerva? Minerva!" the Doctor was calling as he walked the street, "Minerva, where are you!?"

He felt pretty awful for wandering off on the woman like he'd done. He'd only wanted to see this little machine one of the workers had strolling about but in following it, he'd left Minerva in that dress shop she'd liked. But when he'd returned to the shop, he found the American was gone. That put him in concern because she didn't know anyone nor anything in the place. She could get lost or into trouble fairly fast and it would be his fault!

Then...he heard a familiar laughter.

"You're funny, they never mentioned that in the books," Minerva was saying.

The Doctor looked back and saw Minerva walking arm-in-arm with a man, laughing away! She was just walking with a _stranger_ like nothing! He shook his head and started walking for the two, "Minerva? What are you doing..." but he stopped once he had a better look of the man she walked with, "Da Vinci?" he blinked.

"Doctor! Finally!" she gave him a quick hug then moved right back to Da Vinci, "Look who I found?" she pointed beside her.

"I presume this was the friend we were searching for?" Da Vinci looked at the Doctor with slight interest. He'd gotten to like the brunette through the very short time they'd met.

"Mhm, this is my friend," Minerva gestured to the Martian, "This is the Doctor."

"Very nice to meet you," the Doctor shook Da Vinci's hand, "Minerva you go and find one of the greatest painters in history!?"

"I have a knack," she beamed, "And he's even offered to show me his workshop.."

"The invitation extends to you of course, sir," Da Vinci said. Minerva had been adamant that her friend see his workshop and if he really wanted to her to come along he'd have to invite the friend as well.

"Of course!" the Doctor exclaimed.

"Then let's go now!" Minerva said, looking at Da Vinci, "Can we?"

"But of course," Da Vinci patted her hand around his arm and motioned for them to follow him.

The Doctor made a face as he noticed the little looks Da Vinci was giving Minerva while they walked. It didn't settle with him right, after all Da Vinci _is_ twice her age and Minerva was quite innocent to realize...he'd have to keep a close eye on the painter.

~ 0 ~

"This is _amazing_!" Minerva kept repeating as she rushed from one part of Da Vinci's workshop to another, picking up whatever her hands found, "Truly," she ran to a table and looked at all the sketches, "And completely," she rushed to a canvas where an unfinished painting rested, "AMAZING!"

Da Vinci chuckled and walked over to stand beside Minerva, "You are much too kind."

"Doctor, look!" Minerva picked up a little sketch from the table and turned, "Genuine sketches of Da Vinci, oh these are marvelous," she praised as she studied the drawing.

"Amazing," the Doctor nodded and walked around. He truly did have a like for the work of Da Vinci, the man was an icon for art! But...those little looks he kept giving Minerva didn't convince him. He'd hoped Minerva would've noticed and set some distance but it seemed like the woman was too enthralled to see anything but Da Vinci and his work.

"You really like them, my dear?" Da Vinci gently took the sketch from Minerva and set it down on the table.

"Oh yes!" Minerva nodded, "I know you have the mind for all these little inventions. You wrote them down in a book, didn't you?"

"Yes, I did," he smiled, not even perturbed with the fact that a stranger seemed to know him so well, "Would you like to see it?"

"Mhm!" Minerva clapped her hands in delight and watched him go across the room for the journal. She rushed to the Doctor and breathed, "Can you believe this? We're in the workshop of one of the best artists in the world!"

"Yup," he nodded, picking up a small sphere from a nearby table and studying it.

"What's the matter?" Minerva frowned, now realizing that she was the only one excited about all this.

"Minerva have you _seen_ Da Vinci?" he faced her completely, dead serious.

"Clearly," Minerva gestured to the room they were in.

"No, no, no, I meant his face," he pointed to his own for example.

"What's wrong with his face?"

"Mm, I don't know, other than his drool for _you_ , I say there's nothing wrong."

Minerva let out a small laugh, "You're not serious? You think he has a crush on me? That..." she paused to think, a smile spreading across her face, "...that would be so cool!"

"What!?" the Doctor frowned, but Minerva had already left him to go back to Da Vinci, "Minerva? Min..." he called quietly but she waved him off.

"What do you think of this?" Da Vinci was asking her as he opened up his journal to show her of a recent invention he had thought of. He thought it was rather silly, his mind always did come up with odd things...

"Oh I love it," Minerva breathed. It was a sketch and little notes for a flying invention, no doubt would later become the airplane in the 20th century.

"Really?" Da Vinci blinked, surprised a young woman would actually find the scribbles of a madman interesting.

"Oh yeah, it would be fantastic to fly," she set down the journal and turned to him, "But you know, I prefer your paintings."

"You've seen them?"

"Definitely, I think they're gorgeous. But you know, you should definitely paint someone," she put a finger on her cheek as she thought of the Mona Lisa which was yet to come.

"And who do you suggest?"

"A woman," she pointed and started walking around, giving a wink to the Doctor. What if she could get the Mona Lisa to be painted today!? She would actually get to meet the mysterious woman _and_ watch her be painted!

"A woman..." Da Vinci nodded with a smile, his eyes following Minerva as she went, "...and just what woman do you suggest?"

"Pretty, good smile, but mysterious," she turned, now beside the Doctor, 'Don't you agree, Doctor?"

"Yes," he mumbled, "But we shouldn't direct what he should paint, remember?" he gave her a sharp look.

"No, no, Doctor, she's right," Da Vinci came for them, "I shall paint a woman, the most beautiful woman I can find," he then took Minerva's hand, surprising her completely, "Will you be my subject?"

Minerva nearly choked at the question, "M-me? You want to paint _me_?"

Da Vinci nodded, "What do you say, my dear? Let me paint your beautiful self?"

"Um..." Minerva looked at the Doctor who shook his head, "...um, I was thinking of a woman a bit older than me. Possibly darker hair and...properly dressed," she mumbled that last part as she looked at her dress.

"I don't think I'll ever find a woman to match your beauty and grace," he pulled her with him as he headed for the next room, his painting room.

The Doctor shook his head, oh this would not end well. Minerva was essentially taking the place of the Mona Lisa if Da Vinci was declaring he'd never find another woman to paint...

~ 0 ~

"Minerva, you can't do this," the Doctor kept mumbling to her while Da Vinci was in the other room gathering his things to begin the painting.

Minerva sat on a stool, waiting to be positioned by the painter, "Doctor, what's the worst that could happen?"

"Um, one of the greatest paintings in human history _never_ gets painted?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, there's that," she rolled her eyes, "But we can make sure he paints the Mona Lisa later. C'mon, he wants to paint me! _Me_!"

"That's not all he wants to do," he mumbled, earning a sharp look.

"What are you talking about?"

"You're clever, figure it out," he pulled her off the stool and to her feet.

"So what if he has a crush on me? Is that not allowed?"

"Sooner or later he's gonna sneak a kiss on you..."

"Then...I don't know, we'll deal with that later. And besides, what would be the problem with that?" she crossed her arms, "I seem to recall you being the alien that snogs nearly every woman he meets."

"That is different!" he pointed violently at her.

" _How_?"

"Well, I'm...I'm..."

"The only difference I see is that for once, your _companion_ is the one the crush is on," she smirked, "Well I've got news for you, I'm quite mature now and I can take care of myself just fine."

"Minerva, he's twice your age," the Doctor sighed.

"You're 903 and you've snogged woman _far_ younger than that here and there.."

"What? I have not!"

"Madame de Pompadour, that's all I have to say about this!" she moved around him with a deep frown, "Think Mickey didn't tell me about that one?"

"Minerva, I'm trying to protect you!" he followed her around the room desperately.

"Well please stop, I want a friend not a father," she mumbled, her fingers stroking a couple brushes set on a table.

"Don't you see? I _am_ trying to be a friend," he gently reached for her arm and turned her to face him, "This is what a friend does. I don't want to see some man twice your age trying to take advantage of you."

"But he's not doing anything," she quietly said, "You're being overprotective!"

"Yeah, when _you're_ looking," he scoffed, "I'll tell you where those eyes of his have been looking at and spoilers, they're not on your face."

She blushed madly and hugged herself, "Stop it."

"I'm only saying what I've seen! Now please, let's just go," he took her hand and started pulling her for the doorway. He bumped into Da Vinci and made the man drop his utensils, "Sorry, Da Vinci we've got to get going," he pulled Minerva around the painter with haste.

"Going? You can't take my subject just like that," Da Vinci grabbed onto Minerva's free hand, gripping her wrist.

"Actually, I think I can," the Doctor pulled Minerva to his side.

"No, you can't!" Da Vinci pulled Minerva to his side, "She is my subject and I shall paint her!"

"Oh yeah, I can already imagine your little ideas and where exactly your eyes are going to be looking at! So let me just tell you, sir, I won't have that!" and the Doctor pulled Minerva again.

"You insult me, Doctor!" Da Vinci made another pull.

"Insult? I call it the truth!"

"Ow! Okay," Minerva cried, looking between both men, "I'm just going to go ahead and remind a certain someone," she eyed the Doctor sharply, "That I can't heal myself like he does so the pulling thing needs to stop right now!"

"Minerva, tell him you won't do the painting," the Doctor instructed her.

"Who are you to order her like that?" Da Vinci demanded, making another pull on the woman, "Her husband?"

"Her friend and her protector," the Doctor pulled Minerva again.

"This really hurts," Minerva frowned.

"My wondrous, beautiful maiden, don't let him take you away from me," Da Vinci pleaded her.

"Minerva, tell him," the Doctor ordered her.

She sighed and shook both men's hands off her then turned to face Da Vinci, "I'm really sorry, but I can't be your subject. It wouldn't be right."

"It would be more than right," Da Vinci frowned, "You are such a beauty that I am sure someone else is bound to paint you if given the chance. Please give _me_ the privilege to be that painter," he reached for her face and sighed, "I promise to make a portrait and match your gracefulness to the best of my ability. Perhaps even as a...gift...for a love?"

"That's it!" the Doctor yanked Minerva away, "We're out of here!" he ran them to the door, accidentally knockinh a few things on tables to the floor.

"Doctor, what are you doing!?" Da Vinci called, chasing after them.

"Oh now you've done it!" Minerva looked at the Doctor with high concern as they ran, "Da Vinci hates you!"

"Just keep running!" he moved ahead, pulling her with him.

"DOCTOR!" Da Vinci shouted, acquiring the attention of everyone they passed, "Give me back my subject!"

"Soon as I do that you'll convert her into your wife!" the alien cast a mere glance back, "How will I explain that to her grandmother when I meet her?"

"Doctor, shut up!" Minerva smacked him.

"In, in, in, in!" he unlocked the TARDIS and pushed her inside. He quickly came in and shut the door then hurried up to the console and started the box up.

Minerva was pushed against the door when the box shook, "Ah!"

"Sorry, sorry," the Doctor called, the box finally settling down in the Vortex. He looked up and saw Minerva remaining at the door, sliding down in silence. He suddenly realized pretty much everything that had happened and rubbed his neck, "Minerva, I'm so sorry," he started walking towards her, "I didn't mean to cause all that, but..." he sighed and sat down beside her.

"Da Vinci loves me..." she whispered and glanced at him, a small smile spreading on her face, "...I got to meet Leonardo Da Vinci, made him in fall in love with me...and then you managed to make him hate us,well _you_..." she started chuckling. The Doctor didn't know how to respond to her at the moment, "Oh I am so gonna kill you for this!" her chuckling turned into laughter, "Only this would happen to us..."

Soon, the Doctor found himself beginning to laugh the more he thought of it, "Yeah, I guess..."

Minerva rested her head on his arm as they laughed together, "Only us; the American and the Martian!"

* * *

 _Author's Note:_

So how was my first one-shot? lol, hope it wasn't too shabby or anything. I figured there was no better place to start with this collection than the moment with Da Vinci. Any thoughts?

Just a reminder this was a moment where Minerva and the Doctor were not a couple, just a glimpse into their adventures before meeting Martha.

Oh! And I know that the pairing up in the description says Doctors 9-11, but sooner or later (when the stories reach to 12) I'll go ahead and change it from 10-12 just because the 9th Doctor & Minerva didn't really coexist too much.

There's no daily update for this certain collection, just when I get the ideas for a new chapter!

Thank you, until next time :)


	2. An Eventful Crash

_Author's Note:_

 _Welcome, the following is a one-shot of the episode Time Crash. Enjoy!_

* * *

The TARDIS had unexpectedly spun out of control and knocked around its two inhabitants. Thankfully, Minerva had landed on the chairs, a bit harsh but not too bad like the Doctor who'd taken the floor instead.

"Martian?" she called, breathing heavily as she sat up.

"I'm fine! I'm fine!" he struggled back to the controls, "Just stay where you are, I'll fix it!" Minerva nodded and watched him go around the console, "Stop that! Stop it! What was all that about, eh?" he tapped the rotor once the box had officially stopped its spins, "What's your problem?"

"Is she hurt?" Minerva leaned on her chair. The poor box had just endured an entire year of chaos with the Master, even though it hadn't technically happened anymore. Perhaps the poor box of wonders was just spewing out its last mess.

"No, no…I don't think so," the Doctor said, not so sure as he investigated, "Just, just stay there and…"

"Right, just settle down, now..." another man appeared at the console, going in the opposite direction as the Doctor.

Minerva blinked in shock at the new visitor, but the Doctor didn't seem to notice as all he said was, "Excuse me," and moved past the man.

"So sorry…" the man apologized and kept going around the console.

Minerva looked between them and shook her head, "Doctor!" she called and received an interesting answer.

"Yes!?" her Doctor immediately looked up to her.

"Yes?" went the other man at the same time.

"What?" Minerva blinked and looked between them, hopping off her chair, "What's going on here?"

That's when the Doctor finally noticed the new visitor, well not so new once he got a good look, "What?" he shook his head.

"What?" his younger self, the fifth Doctor, raised an eyebrow.

"Who are you?" Minerva pointed at him, not demanding just…confused, "How is this possible? Doctor, what's going on?"

"I don't know," the fifth Doctor shrugged while her Doctor simply grinned at his younger self.

"Aw, brilliant!" he exclaimed then rethought of the situation, "I mean, totally wrong, big emergency, universe goes bang in five minutes, but... brilliant!"

"Martian!" Minerva frowned, "What's going on?"

The fifth Doctor had just about enough of the two strangers and angrily spoke, "I'm the Doctor, who are you?"

"Are you serious?" Minerva raised an eyebrow.

The tenth Doctor was simply ecstatic with the event before him, "Yes, you are, you are the Doctor."

"Yes, I am, I'm the Doctor."

"But if _you're_ the Doctor…" Minerva pointed at the fifth Doctor, "…then…" her eyes drifted to her Martian as she made the connection, "Oh…oh wow," she started smiling, "Oh wow!"

The tenth Doctor could not get rid of his grin as he took in his younger self's appearance, "Oh, good for you, Doctor. Good for brilliant old you."

"Is there something wrong with you?" the fifth Doctor had to ask about the man in the suit. Did he ever stop smiling?

"Ooo, there it goes, the frowny face! I remember that one!" the tenth Doctor pointed at the frown in front of him, "Mind you," he grabbed his younger self's cheeks and squished them, "It's saggier than it ought to be," and then he moved on to the sideburns on his younger self, "Hair's a bit greyer, that's cos of me, though, two of us together has shorted out the time differential, should all snap back in place when we get you home," he grabbed his younger self's coat by the lapels, "Be able to close that coat again. But never mind that, look at you! The hat, the coat, the crickety cricket stuff, the... stick of celery, yeah... Brave choice, celery, but fair play to you, not a lot of men can carry off a decorative vegetable."

"No one can," Minerva corrected, trying to peer from behind the fifth Doctor to see said celery stick, "No one ought to…" she whispered to herself.

"Shut up!" the fifth Doctor snapped and snatched off his hat in anger, "There is something very wrong with my TARDIS, and I've got to do something about it very very quickly, and it would help, it really would help, if there wasn't some skinny idiot ranting in my face about every single thing that happens to be in front of him!"

Minerva let out a laughter that even a hand over her mouth was not enough to contain it.

"Oi!" her Martian pouted, knowing she was laughing _at_ him because of what his younger self had said. That's not how it was supposed to go.

"Now if you'll excuse me," the fifth Doctor turned to the console, deciding to ignore the woman for time's sake.

"Aw, the back of my head!" the tenth Doctor exclaimed, over his small pouty moment.

"What?" the fifth Doctor glanced back, utterly confused.

"Sorry, sorry, it's not something you see every day, is it, the back of your own head. Mind you, I can see why you wear a hat... I don't want to seem vain, but could you keep that on?"

"You are _so_ vain," Minerva crossed her arms.

"Okay, this isn't how it's supposed to go!" her Martian exclaimed, huffing and walking up to her, quietly speaking to her as if it was a serious matter, "We're together now, you're not supposed to say all that."

"Hey, I've always said it," she reminded, "And besides, just because we're together doesn't mean I have to turn into a liar like you," she poked him on the chest and moved to the fifth Doctor, "Need any help?"

"Actually, I'd really like to know what have you done to my TARDIS?" he turned to her, "You've changed the desktop theme, haven't you? What's this one? Coral? It's worse than the leopardskin," he put on half-moon spectacles and turned back to the console.

"Oh Lord you still wore those stupid glasses," Minerva made a face and looked at her Martian, "Really?"

The Martian was practically _bouncing_ , "The brainy specs! He doesn't even need them!"

"I know, they make you look a bit clever," Minerva playfully rolled her eyes, "Some things never change, I see."

They heard the klaxon sound going off, making the fifth Doctor go even more frantic, "That's an alert... Level five. Indicating a temporal collision! It's like... two TARDISes have merged, but there's definitely only one TARDIS present..." while he spoke, the tenth Doctor casually strolled around to the monitor, bringing Minerva back with him, "It's like two time zones at war in the heart of the Tardis... That's a paradox. Could blow a hole in the space-time continuum the size of..." his older self shoved the view screen into his gaze, "Well, actually, the exact size of... Belgium. That's a bit undramatic, isn't it? Belgium?"

"That's rude, do you know that?" Minerva shook her head, "That doesn't change either."

"Need this?" her Martian covered her mouth while he held his screwdriver to his younger self.

"Nah, I'm fine," he waved it off.

"OW!" the tenth Doctor jerked back when he received a mighty bite on his palm.

The fifth Doctor looked over with concern to see the man in the suit frantically rubbing his palm while the brunette woman was smirking away.

"You bit me!" the tenth Doctor frowned as he looked at Minerva, "You have shark teeth!"

"I never bite people," Minerva remarked casually, "But I don't know…you made me do that."

"Well…don't let that become a recurring thing…ow," he shook his hand and slowly moved back to them.

"Now then," Minerva looked at the fifth Doctor, "Let's see…you're a bit odd, aren't you?" she looked him over.

"Me?" the man huffed, "You just bit the poor man and _I'm_ the odd one here?"

"Note number one," she began, quietly serious, "I'm always right," she pointed to him, "You remember that: I'm always right, no argument about it."

"Who are you?" he demanded, looking up at the tenth Doctor as well, "Who are you!?"

"Take a look," Minerva pointed back at her Martian and moved aside.

The fifth Doctor stepped closer and studied the man in the suit, "No. Oh, no…"

"Oh, yes," the tenth Doctor nodded.

"You're... oh, no..."

"Here it comes... yeah, yeah, I am..."

"A _fan_ ," the fifth Doctor distastefully finished and walked away.

"Yeah...What?" the tenth Doctor looked after him with an irritated face.

Minerva just burst into another laughter.

"Shut it!" her Martian pointed at her warningly, "Just…shush!"

"So never letting it go!" she hugged her stomach as her laughter increased.

The fifth Doctor heard a beeping sound from the console, "Level ten, now. This is bad. Two minutes to Belgium!"

"What'd'ya mean, a fan? I'm not just a fan, I'm you!" the tenth Doctor went after him.

"Okay, you're my biggest fan."

"Yes he is!" Minerva shot a finger at her Martian, "Totally number one fan!"

"You're not helping!" he snapped and she smirked back.

"Look, it's perfectly understandable, I go zooming around space and time, saving planets, fighting monsters, and being, well, let's be honest, pretty sort of marvelous..." the fifth Doctor explained with pride, "So naturally, now and then, people notice me. Start up their little groups. That LINDA lot. Are you one of them? How did you get in here? Can't have you lot knowing where I live..."

"Listen to me, I'm you. I'm you with a new face," the tenth Doctor slapped his own cheeks, "Check out this bone structure, Doctor, cos one day you're gonna be shaving it."

"And then proceed to cry about it when he cuts himself," Minerva added.

"You're not helping!" he turned to her, almost pleading her to be on his side.

"The cloister bell!" the fifth Doctor exclaimed, having ignored the small argument beside him.

"Yep, right on time. That's my cue..." the tenth Doctor moved around the console.

"In this limit, we're gonna generate a black hole strong enough to swallow the entire universe!"

"Yeah... That's my fault, actually. I was rebuilding the TARDIS," the tenth Doctor said and cleared his throat, "Sort of got distracted…" he shared a short glance with Minerva, both sporting blushes on their faces. He'd been about to get to that when Minerva had initiated another kiss, and well…anything about shields had been forgotten.

" _And_?" the fifth Doctor raised an eyebrow, confused why the talking had stopped.

"I forgot to put the shields back up," the tenth Doctor quickly finished with a sheepish smile, "Your TARDIS and my TARDIS... well, the same TARDIS, different voyages in the same time stream, collided and wurp, there ya go, end of the universe, butterfingers, but, don't worry, I know exactly how this all works out, watch..." he moved around the console, flicking controls here and there, "Venting the thermo buffer... Flooring the helmic regulator... And just to finish off, let's fire those zyton crystals."

His younger self tried pushing his hands away from the console, thinking only more destruction would come from it, "You'll blow up the TARDIS!"

"Martian, are you sure about that?" Minerva hurried over, all teasing gone once the serious stuff came out.

"Trust me, it's the only way out," he assured her.

"Who told you that?" the fifth Doctor raised an eyebrow.

"You told me that!" the tenth Doctor hit the control, making the box whirl through the Vortex, a bright light taking over the room for a short moment.

"A supernova and a black hole at the exact same instant..." the fifth Doctor breathed as he looked at the monitor.

"Explosion cancels out implosion," the tenth Doctor said.

"Matter remains constant."

"Brilliant."

"Far too brilliant. I've never met anyone else who could fly the TARDIS like that."

Minerva scoffed, "Believe me, _no one_ will drive this box like you…"

"You didn't have time to work all that out," the fifth Doctor studied his younger self, "Even I couldn't do it!"

"Well he probably didn't have to worry about it," Minerva shrugged.

"You remembered," the fifth Doctor realized, "He remembered."

"I remembered," the tenth Doctor nodded, "Because _you_ will remember."

"You remembered being me, watching you doing that... You only knew what to do because I saw you do it."

"Wibbly wobbley..."

"Timey wimey!"

"Now you've got it!" Minerva laughed.

An alarm blared which made her Martian leap for the console again, "Right! TARDISes are separating. Sorry Doctor, time's up, back to long ago. Where are you now? Nyssa and Tegan? Cybermen and Mara and Time Lords in funny hats and the Master?"

"Actually I was on my way to visit the Monsoon," the fifth Doctor admitted with a soft smile.

"Oh…" the tenth Doctor momentarily stopped and looked at Minerva.

Minerva just smiled, touched he was concerned for his younger self's words…as if would upset her. She simply moved to the fifth Doctor's side and set a hand on his shoulder, "I'm sure she'll be very happy to see you."

"How do you know I'm going to see someone?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Because he told me," Minerva pointed back to her Martian, "And he also told me that every time you'd go there you'd bring the princess a gift…so what are you bringing her this time?" she asked curiously.

"Oh, um…something simple," the fifth Doctor took out a small snow globe from his jacket with a snowman inside.

"Oh but this is beautiful," Minerva took the snow globe from him and shook it, "I'm sure she'll love it."

"I hope so too," the fifth Doctor said.

Minerva looked at the soft smile the man wore on his face, the same one that had been there the moment he'd mentioned the Monsoon. It wasn't quite hard to see how he felt about the woman he was going to see.

She handed back the snow globe and lightly sighed, "It's perfect. As a woman, I can tell you right now the gift will do just fine," she went ahead and gave him a hug.

"Oh, that's very kind of you," the fifth Doctor chuckled and pulled away, a small smile on his face as he eyed her, "It's funny, you give hugs like her…just like her."

Minerva swallowed and stepped back, "Just…a woman thing, I guess," she looked down momentarily, a bit sad.

"What are you, exactly?"

"Companion," she said before her Martian could open his mouth.

"Min-"

"Joy, my name is Joy," she held her hand to the fifth Doctor, "I'm the Doctor's companion, current one. It's very nice to meet you."

"But that's not…" the tenth Doctor moved over with a frown. He didn't like to see her being downgraded to a friend, much more to a name she detested, especially after speaking about Kaeya.

"I keep you on your toes, you know," she linked arms with her Martian and smiled, "Remember that when you meet me."

The fifth Doctor nodded, "Will do Miss Joy," his image began to fade and so it came time to say goodbye, "I seem to be off. Well, what can I say? Thank you. Doctor, Joy."

"Thank you," the pair replied.

"I'm very welcome," he disappeared.

The Doctor flipped a switch on the console and made his younger self reappear, "You know," he picked up his self's hat and handed it back, "I loved being you. Back when I first started at the very beginning, I was always trying to be old and grumpy and important, like you do when you're young. And then I was you. I was all bashing about and playing cricket and my voice going all squeaky when I shouted, I still do that! The voice thing, I got that from you! Oh!" he put his foot on the console and showed off shoe, "And the trainers!"

"Oh and don't forget," Minerva said just as her Martian pulled out his black glasses, "Never changes."

Her Martian chuckled, "Snap! And…cos you know what, Doctor? You were my Doctor. "

The fifth Doctor raised his hat with a smile, "To days to come."

"All my love to long ago."

The fifth Doctor finally disappeared, leaving the pair back on their own. The Doctor turned to Minerva with an open mouth and a pointed finger when the fifth Doctor's voice was heard again, "Oh, Doctor? Remember to put your shields up."

"Why did you say your name was Joy?" the Doctor pushed a button without looking, "Why did you say you were my companion…?" he cupped Minerva's face into his hands.

"Because you'd remember and I'd give you the biggest spoiler," she shrugged, "I can't have you meeting me and already knowing what my real name is and that I'd be your future."

"I'm sorry for his words," he sighed.

"I'm fine," she assured, moving his hands down to her waist instead, "You looked so in love. Is that what you looked like back then?"

"Let's not talk about that," he shook his head, "It's the past."

"And we just met it," she laughed, "It's alright to admit it, Martian. You loved Kaeya, a pure and kind love."

"I promise you those days are over…" he leaned down, brushing his lips over hers, feeling her breath hitch, "…because the only one I'll be giving gifts to is a certain clever girl in my arms right now."

"Well, I know for a fact she'll love that," she bit her lip and draped her arms around his neck, "Just one more thing, though."

"What?"

"…a piece of celery, eh?" she started giggling when he groaned.

"It was a fashion statement!"

"It was a _vegetable_!"

"Minerva!"

"Martian!"

He narrowed his eyes for a second then resigned to kiss her as a 'punishment,' neither hearing the faint sound of a ship growing closer and closer…

* * *

 _Author's Note:_

First off, first off...I'm gonna pull a Minerva and just laugh at the celery. I've never watched Classic Who save for about to stories from the 1st Doctor so I've only seen pictures of 5. So, to see that episode, it was...very funny ^.^

Yeah, there'll be no Minnie and Vinci as long as the Doctor's around lol. Thank you!

Yeah lol, I figured it was time to show what really happened with Da Vinci. It was a lot of fun writing despite the fact the pair wasn't actually a "pair". Yup, I'll write down any ideas that come to me and try to make them into chapters, hopefully not too shabby :)

I know this wasn't technically a one-shot but I figured this collection could also serve as a location for more mini-episodes to come if I decide to write them down.

Anyways, hope it was to your liking and to see your thoughts, thank you! :)


	3. Scribbles to Masterpieces

"What do you think?" Minerva held up a new drawing she had just finished of her grandmother.

The Doctor, who sat beside her on the TARDIS library couch, looked up from his book he was reading (or perhaps sneaking stares at Minerva), and looked at the brunette woman, "I think it's…" he took the drawing and smiled instantaneously, "…wonderful. I love it."

"You're not just saying that because you're my boyfriend and you want a kiss?" Minerva crossed her arms.

"Technically, I _always_ want a kiss from you," he corrected, "And second of all, I keep telling you you're a talented artist. I'm sure your grandmother is going to love this."

"I hope so, her birthday's coming up and I want to surprise her with it. I'm sure she still has all my stupid scribbles from a child."

"Oh c'mon," the Doctor chuckled and handed her drawing back, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her closer to him afterwards, "I'm sure those were wonderful too."

"No, I meant they _literally_ were _scribbles_ ," Minerva looked up at him and laughed, "I was six and I thought I was Élizabeth Vigée-Lebrun. I wanted to draw a self portrait, and well…" she looked around and made a face.

"I think that sounds adorable," the Doctor tapped her nose, "And I most definitely want to see those scribbles sometime."

"Never," she pointed, "It's embarrassing, alright?"

"Why?"

"Because, well…Élizabeth Vigée-Lebrun was a real artist. Her skills were magnificent and _me_? I'm just an amateur. Not even that," she shook her head.

"Excuse me but _I_ believe you are more than just an amateur. If you wanted to, you could become a world-famous artist just like any other."

Minerva smiled, "Thank you."

"I have something to show you," he announced and stood up, pulling Minerva up.

"What is it?" Minerva asked as they left the library and walked down the corridors.

"A surprise!"

"What kind of surprise?"

"A surprise, now shush," the Doctor warned and made a turn, finding the just the door he was searching for, "Now, close your eyes," as soon as Minerva's eyes were shut, he put his own hand in front of her eyes, "I don't want peeking."

"I'm not _you_ ," she countered.

"Oh ha, ha," he rolled his eyes, although he wasn't going to touch on the subject of his cheating skills when it came to surprises, "Are you ready?"

"Mhm," she nodded.

The Doctor opened the door and cautiously stepped her inside and closed the door behind them, "Don't open your eyes just yet," he warned and moved in front of her, "Ready?"

"Yes," she was sounding a tad impatient but the Doctor disregarded it. He knew how curious she always was about things and surprises only increased it and her impatience.

"One…two…three!" and the Doctor steppes aside to allow Minerva to see a large, white room.

Minerva looked around and saw shelves on one side of the room stocked up with paint jars filled with different colors of the paint. There were white canvases everywhere ready to be painted on. Tables were set around and consisted of different paint brushes along with drawing utensils like the needed pens/pencils with colored pencils as well.

"Do you like it?" the Doctor was grinning widely, baring nearly all his teeth from such a grin.

"You created a painting room for me…" Minerva stepped forwards, unable to believe all this was for… _her_.

"Well, it's a drawing room too, I know you're a bit hesitant on the painting but I figured all you need is a push," the Doctor grabbed her hand and pulled her for one of the shelves, "And of course, being _me_ , it didn't suffice to get boring ole paint like a regular person," he crinkled his nose and shook his head, "No! I went out, got some different kind of paints."

"What kind?" she looked at him with suspicion.

"Well, some that glitters, some that make the pictures come to life…"

"To _life_?" she blinked with wide eyes.

"I thought it'd be fun to see all your little figures moving around on the paper and canvas!" the Doctor cheered, "Say if you draw…us," he turned around and started some sort of fake waltz between them, "Dancing, we'd dance all around the paper," he twirled her around then did their usual dip, "And then they might do this," he kissed her and brought her up.

Minerva blushed as they parted and had to smile, "That would be wonderful to see."

"Oh! And then the colored pencils!" he blinked with remembrance and pulled her to one of the tables, "Same thing applies with these, dear. Draw something and it'll come to life on the paper. Though I did get regular ones in case you needed them. There's regular paint and regular colored pencils."

"Is that a chalkboard?" Minerva looked behind him to the wall at the end of the room.

"Yes!" the Doctor shouted due to his usual excitement. He pulled Minerva towards it and stopped in front of it, "Notice how the other walls are plain white?" he turned her so she would see that the other three walls of the room were completely white, "I thought you could be creative with the room and paint the walls of what ever you wanted."

"Are you serious?" Minerva glanced back at him, "But what if I mess up?"

"Best part, the TARDIS will just erase it for you. You can paint it one way and then when you get tired of it, the old girl will just reset the wall back to white for you to make new art."

"And the chalkboard?" she turned back to it.

"Well I thought maybe you might wanted to have something different; chalk," he shrugged, "And the chalk is…" he backed away and walked to a table where a black box sat. He picked it up and opened it for Minerva to see dozens of different colored chalk pieces for her, "…right here."

"You thought of this entire room…for _me_?" Minerva was still in disbelief of such a grand gift.

"Who else? _Me_?" he quickly shook his head, "I'm no John Smith. Stick figures is my best work," he set the box back on the table and walked up to her, taking her hands, "You told me how your parents never supported your talent so I wanted to make it clear that _I_ support you. I believe you are one of the greatest artists I've ever seen and you could become one of the greatest artists the _world_ has ever seen. Everyone starts small but not everyone has the support and belief. I believe in you, and I'm sure that your painting skills are going to improve with your practice. Turn those scribbles into a masterpiece."

Next thing the Doctor knew he saw Minerva's eyes tearing up…which made him panic.

"N-n-n-no! That's not the emotion I was going for!" he exclaimed as he put his hands on her face and quickly wiped some loose tears on her cheeks, "I thought this would make you happy!"

"I _am_ happy, Martian," Minerva lightly chuckled, "These are tears of _happiness_ ," she took his hands off her and hugged him, "No one's ever done this type of thing for me. No one's ever believed in me like you do. I'm happy, Martian, I'm really, really happy."

"Oh, oh good," the Doctor sighed in relief and kissed her head, "That's very, very good."

Minerva pulled away and rubbed her eyes dry, "And you know what, first thing I'm going to draw is us two dancing," she took his hands and pulled him to a table where she saw colored pencils, "And then I'm going to draw something even better for my grandmother, and then I'll draw something for uncle Aaron…" and she turned to him with a soft smile, "…and then I'm going to paint _us_ , sharing one of these," she leaned up but noticed a small stool not too far from them. Quickly, she ran to it then brought back, placing it in front of the Doctor and taking the small two steps up, "There!"

The Doctor had been watching her in quite an amusement. He started laughing as he set his hands on her waist, keeping her steady, "Have I mentioned you are completely adorable?"

"Not today you haven't," she answered in a mock-serious tone, "And hey," she reverted back to her normal voice, "It's not my fault you're so damn tall and I'm so short!"

"I don't mind one bit," he leaned forwards, admitting to himself that it was a bit odd to have her face-to-face with the same height at the moment.

"Well _I_ do," she huffed.

"It has some advantages," he shrugged.

"Like what?" she frowned.

"Like this," he smirked and pulled her right off the stool, kissing her before she got a word out. With easiness, he backed her up against the white wall and only pulled away when he knew Minerva had to breathe again. He smirked again when he saw how out of breath she was and so he leaned to rest his forehead on hers, "See? Because you're small I can pull you here and there and kiss you easily."

"Such an advantage…" Minerva was trying to recollect herself after such a kiss and looked at him with rapid blinking eyes, "…wow, okay," she shook her head and forced herself to return to normal, "Thank you Martian, for all this," she draped her arms around his neck, "I promise you I will take good care of it."

"I've no doubt you will. And, just a note, there's another room beside this one where all your finished masterpieces are going to be hung in."

"My own little museum," she chuckled.

"I'll take the first ticket in...though I am hoping for a discount..." he winked.

"We'll see," she shrugged.

He laughed, "I'm glad to know you like your present."

"I love it," she corrected, "And you know, we should go ahead and inaugurate it."

"How so?" he raised an eyebrow, "Do you want me to find a red ribbon and scissors?"

"That's so boring," one of her hands slid down to his tie, the Doctor's eyes widening slightly as he followed her hand, "I was thinking of something more exciting like a great, big snog," she smirked.

"That…that could wo-"

The Doctor never had the chance to finish his last word because Minerva had pulled him by the tie down to her lips. She had every last intention to make it a snog she'd remember every time she entered her new painting room.

* * *

 _Author's Note:_

Hello! Hope this newest one-shot was to everyone's liking.

Small side-note: this particular event did actually happen in the main story (but behind the scenes aka here). It'd be set between _Voyage of the Damned_ and _Partners in Crime_ :)

For the reviews on the last one shot:

Quite the different reactions, huh? Oh believe me, I don't think anyone in the story is going to see the big twist of Kaeya coming. For Star-Crossed, the moment is coming in a couple weeks, so check it out :)

Yes, that celery piece would probably be 11 and his fez. I can see it being exactly the same. Oh, I probably wouldn't be able to handle meeting a younger me so easily as well. I'd probably have to keep biting my tongue because I'd be trying to tell my younger self what not to do to avoid the mistakes I did.


	4. Bath Time

_Author's Note: The following is an AU one-shot for any confusion that may arise._

 _Also, it's OC/10 for this one. (To avoid confusion, again)._

* * *

Minerva laid on the bed with her favorite book in arms, _The Picture of Dorian Gray_. She had grabbed a nice cup of coffee and some sugar cookies to eat whilst she read. She'd left the Doctor at the console room so he could continue 'fixing' the poor TARDIS and make all the noises he wanted to and not be able to bother her. Their room was nice and quiet, a perfect place for reading…or so she'd thought…

"Bouncy! Bouncy! Bouncy! Bouncy!" went a chanter while the bed shifted with each jump. Minerva lowered her book and looked at the overly excited toddler jumping all over the bed, "Bouncy! Bouncy! Bouncy!"

"Marina!" Minerva shouted, "Stop it!"

Marina giggled and let herself fall on her back on the bed. She tilted her head up to see Minerva with an irritated face, "Hi, Mommy," she waved.

"Hi sweetie," Minerva strained to wave her hand without scolding her daughter again, "What are you doing there?"

"Bouncy!"

"And what has Mommy told you about bouncing on the bed?"

"Don't know…" Marina's jade-green eyes innocently looked around the room.

"Don't jump on the bed, Marina," Minerva sighed and set her book on the night stand. She sat up straight and leaned over to grab the toddler, "You can fall and hurt yourself."

"But _fun_ , Mommy," Marina exclaimed, "Daddy says fun!"

"Yeah he would say that," Minerva muttered and sighed again, "And what has Mommy said about Daddy?"

Marina giggled and stood up on the bed again, moving to Minerva's ear and whispering the answer, "Daddy big idiot."

Minerva laughed, "And that's why you're my clever little girl," she snatched Marina and hugged her, swaying the small toddler around, "Now Marina, Mommy has this really great book that she wants to read and…"

"Marina quiet now?" Marina looked up.

"Yes," Minerva reached for a doll Marina had left, "But you can play with your dolls, alright?"

"Cookie?" Marina pointed over her head to the plate of cookies on the nightstand.

"You drive a hard bargain, Marina Smith," Minerva tapped her daughter's nose and picked up a cookie from the plate, "Here you go."

Marina quickly took the cookie from her mother and sat right beside her, taking her doll and quietly munching on the cookie, "Quiet, quiet, quiet," she began when Minerva looked down at her again.

"Shh," Minerva put a finger on her lips.

Marina giggled and put a little finger to her lips, mimicking Minerva, "Shh."

"Good girl," Minerva picked up her book again and opened up on the page she left off, about to begin reading when…

"Finished!" the Doctor entered the room with a grin and a dirty face, his hair slightly askew.

As Minerva sighed, Marina quickly put her finger on her lips, "Daddy, shh," she whispered.

"I interrupted reading time?" the Doctor guessed.

"Yes," Minerva looked at him with a mock-scolding face, "I _just_ got her to be quiet for some minutes."

"Wow, that's an achievement," the Doctor closed the door and walked to the bed, "Marina sure loves to talk."

"Noooo!" Marina shook her head.

"Yes you do," the Doctor pointed at her with a smile, "You're just like your mother. None of you ever stop asking questions."

"Questions learn, Daddy," Marina shrugged.

The Doctor laughed at that. That was his little girl, just like her mother. Marina was only two years old and already she was so curious about everything. Like Minerva, she'd ask millions of questions and expected each of them to be answered because 'questions help you learn' as stated by Marina through their telepathic communication. She was almost an exact replica of Minerva, down to their very appearance. Marina had the jade-green eyes of Minerva and the straight hair, only hers was shorter and went up to her shoulders. She'd even to capture most of Minerva's American accent, only giving him an even closer miniature version of Minerva.

And he absolutely loved it.

"So, how's about I get to finish my book, then?" Minerva looked at the Doctor, "And you take Marina and give her a b-a-t-h, hmm?"

"Oh…" the Doctor glanced at Marina who'd picked up her doll and was playing with it, "...is it that time already again?"

"Mhm," Minerva nodded and leaned closer to him, "And I'd be really quiet when you take her or she'll give you the chase of your life."

The Doctor smirked, "Like her mother did…?"

"Oi, I didn't make you chase me," Minerva crossed her arms, "You were just that in love with that me and it wasn't my fault."

"Oh, but _I'm_ the one that has problems with modesty."

"I learned it from you," Minerva tapped his nose, "And also this," she gave him a kiss.

Before she could pull away he deepened the kiss and refused to let her end it. However, they suddenly felt a bit of pressure on the side of their faces. They pulled away to find Marina on her feet on the bed with her forehead pressed on their temples, "Hi Mommy, hi Daddy," she smiled.

"You do the oddest things, Marina," Minerva laughed and took the toddler into her arms.

"My turn," Marina pouted and patted her head.

"Oh yes, sorry," Minerva kissed her head.

"Daddy, your turn," Marina patted her head again.

"Yes, dear," the Doctor smiled and kissed the top of her head next, making her giggle, "Hey, she's in a good mood today," the Doctor remarked, "Maybe she won't mind a bath."

And then everything went bad after that.

Minerva's eyes widened and immediately looked down at Marina, "Oh no…"

Marina's giggle had vanished and her eyes had widened much like her mother's, "No, no, no, no, no, no!" she jumped out of Minerva's arms and snatched her doll before hopping off the bed and running towards the doors, "No, no, no, no, no!" she continued to repeat as she ran out.

The Doctor winced with each refusal his daughter gave, "I'm in trouble aren't I?"

Minerva was looking at him with heavily irritated eyes, "Oh you are _so_ in trouble. One instruction, Martian," she sighed as she got out of the bed, " _One_ instruction."

"Maybe it won't be so bad," the Doctor tried to hope as he quickly followed Minerva out the door.

Only for Marina to be coming down the hallway, still chanting, "No, no, no, no, no!" she gasped when she saw her parents waiting for her across her and quickly turned around and began running the other way, "No, no, no, no, no! No bath! No!" she made a turn around the corner of the corridor.

And then she reappeared on the opposite side of the corridor Minerva and the Doctor were in.

"Hm, seems the TARDIS is rearranging the hallways so that _someone_ has to take a bath," Minerva crossed her arms and smirked at the toddler that had stopped her running once again.

"No bath!" Marina stomped her little foot.

"C'mon, Marina," the Doctor stepped towards her, "It'll be fun. You can bring your toys, I promise."

"Noooo!" Marina shook her head.

"Marina," Minerva also stepped forwards, "You're taking a bath, sweetheart. Your daddy's right, you can bring in all your toys."

"No!" Marina shouted and turned away to begin her run once more.

Minerva and the Doctor looked at each other with a sigh, "Split up?" Minerva asked.

"Split up," the Doctor nodded and so the two went in different directions of the corridor knowing that Marina would appear in one of them due to the ongoing rearrangement of the corridors.

"No! No! No!" Marina kept saying when saw Minerva coming after her, "No bath!" she looked back and gasped when Minerva was almost getting her.

Due to that, Marina didn't see the Doctor ahead of her and was easily caught in his arms, "Gotcha!" the Doctor cheered.

"No! No bath! No bath! No bath!" Marina wiggled in the Doctor's arms, "No, Daddy, no," she looked up with a pout on her face.

"Nice try, Marina, the pouty face isn't going to work on me…" the Doctor quickly looked away before he fell under the toddler's tricks.

"Great, you got her," Minerva caught her breath when she finally reached them.

"No bath!" Marina insisted as they headed towards Marina's nursery room.

"Oh, they're not that bad," the Doctor shifted Marina on his side. He pushed away the strands of her hair from her face, "Baths are quite…" he glanced at Minerva and took a breath, "…fun."

Minerva blushed a deep red, "Well...if you help me with that one," she nodded to Marina, "Then perhaps you can take one too..." she smirked and picked at his messy hair, "...and I'll be glad to help you."

The Doctor stuttered at those words and let out another breath, "Right, so, Marina's taking a bath and that's...and a fast one," he eyed Minerva, "...before that offer expires."

Minerva playfully rolled her eyes, "It won't."

Marina, oblivious to her parent's conversation, pouted again and crossed her small arms, "Meanies."

"That's just fine with us," Minerva smirked, "Because if we're 'meanies' then I guess we don't have to read a bedtime story to Marina."

The Doctor also smirked and nodded, "Oh yeah, no bedtime stories."

Marina gasped at the idea, "No bedtime story?" she blinked when her parents shook their heads. Suddenly, she started clapping, "Bath time! Bath good!"

"We probably should've started with that," the Doctor chuckled and kissed Marina's cheek.

"Bedtime story now, Daddy?" she tilted her head.

"Absolutely," he nodded.

"Bedtime story now, Mommy?" Marina looked at Minerva with a hopeful smile.

Minerva nodded, "Yes, you get a bedtime story again."

"Do we still get bath time after that?" the Doctor curiously asked her.

Minerva kissed his cheek and winked, "Of course."

"Yay!" Marina clapped her hands, though she was cheering for her bedtime story while the Doctor let out a 'yay' of his own for his own...bath.

Fortunate for him, Marina now calmly allowed him and Minerva to take her into her nursery room for her bath with all her toys just like her parents promised.

* * *

 _Author's Note:_

Sorry if the baby one-shot just came out of the no where but as you may find out later on I'm a sucker for those types of one-shots and scenes. Oh well, I have to write down my ideas somewhere, right? Though they won't be _all_ I write either, just here and there :)


	5. If Only

_Author's Note:_

 _The following is an AU One-shot with Minerva/10 :)_

* * *

"Natalia, please don't pass me any calls for the afternoon, nor visits," Minerva walked towards her office without casting a glance to her secretary.

The secretary, Natalia, stood up from her seat at the appearance of her boss, "Yes, Miss Souza," she nodded, "But actually, there was a man earlier who-"

Minerva snapped her head to the secretary, irritated her orders had been cast aside, "I don't care, just do as I ask please."

"Right, but he said he would be coming-"

"Natalia, no visits, no calls, no nothing, understood?" Minerva turned to the woman, "I'm taking several cases from my mother and I need an afternoon of peace. Now question is, will you follow my directions?"

Natalia nodded sheepishly, "Yes, Miss Souza."

"Thank you, carry on," Minerva turned to her office and opened the door, coming right in and shutting it behind her.

With a sigh, she headed for her desk and set down her briefcase. She opened it up and pulled out several folders filled with papers inside which she placed on the desk. Her entire afternoon and night would be taken by these cases her mother could not see to for the day. She was already tired from her own cases and now had to deal with the additional ones, great…just great. But she shouldn't even be surprised anymore, she'd been a lawyer for ten years now and there were always days where her mother would dump some of her cases on Minerva with some poor excuse. Her father would sometimes try to take some cases off her hands but Minerva would refuse. Her mother would kill her if she found out Minerva would pass on the cases to her father after being specifically asked to work on them herself. It was all an outright mess with the Souza family, but Minerva had grown accustomed to it. After 35 years of life, she knew how to handle it pretty well.

It was hours later when Minerva's desk phone went off, making her groan and press the speaker for her answer, "Natalia, must I go over the concept of 'follow directions' with you?"

"I'm terribly sorry, Miss Souza, but there's the man that I spoke of earlier who's here and-"

Minerva rolled her eyes, "And I believe I told you about that as well. I'm not taking calls nor visits."

"But he's really insistent and he's got references-"

"I don't care, tell him to make an appointment or leave, I frankly don't care which one he decides for," with that, Minerva ended the conversation and returned to her work. She picked up her glasses and put them on, her eyes already tired from the reading she'd been doing.

Of course several minutes later, her office door was opened up and in came a man with a pinstriped suit and a brief case in hand, "Good evening, Miss Souza," the Doctor greeted with a cheery smile.

Minerva lifted her head and showed her displeasure of his entrance, "I take it you're the insistent man that my secretary threw out my directions for?"

"Oh, you mean sweet ole Natalia? Let's not call people by their profession, it's a bit rude, you know," the Doctor set his briefcase on the chair across Minerva.

"Who the hell are you and on what grounds do you walk into my office like this?" Minerva frowned and leaned back on her chair, "I can call security right now and have you thrown out of this firm."

"Why such hostility? I'm only making a simple visit," the Doctor looked around the (admittedly bland) office. Though he did notice the one portrait Minerva had on her desk, that of a young, blonde woman.

"An _unauthorized_ visit," Minerva snapped and corrected, "I'm sure Natalia told you to make an appointment."

"Yeah, she did mention something about that…"

"Good, then go back out and take it. I have far too much work to waste it on some…whatever you are," she shooed him off with a hand while the other picked up a pen.

"Miss Souza you want to listen to me," the Doctor warned, his cheery tone gone and replaced with seriousness, "I come from UNIT," Minerva stiffened, "A lovely force I am sure you are more than familiar with."

Silently, Minerva stood up and walked around her desk, going straight for the door and shutting it with the lock. She turned around pulled off her glasses, "Who are you and what do you want?"

"I'm the Doctor, and I think you know exactly what we want," the Doctor crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at her.

"I already spoke with that little institution, what was it? Torchwood," Minerva rolled her eyes as she made her way back to her desk, "And my answer is still final: the criminal I sent to jail is staying there, period," she plopped down on her chair.

"Yes, I was informed of Captain Jack's failed attempt," the Doctor nodded, "That's exactly why _I_ was called in to take the matter into my own hands."

"Listen, Doctor, I am a very stubborn woman, and when I make my decision, _especially_ about the justice system, it's always final," Minerva shrugged casually and put her glasses back on, "Nothing you do nor say will change it, so don't waste your time."

"Miss Souza, that criminal you sent to jail was a humanoid alien and does not belong in that jail."

"That same 'humanoid alien' committed a crime and therefore is in jail for said crime. I don't understand what you English are trying to do here," Minerva shook her head, "The alien committed a crime. He intended to murder a defenseless woman and therefore belongs just where he is right now."

"I'm not asking you to liberate him, nor is UNIT nor Torchwood," the Doctor clarified the intentions, "We simply want the alien to be released into _our_ custody where _I_ myself will make sure he's taken to the proper authorities where he will be punished-"

"He's _already_ been punished," Minerva intervened with a scowl on her face, "Have you not listened? I can show you the paper work if you'd like, I'm no scamming lawyer if that's what you all think-"

"No, no, I don't think that," the Doctor pointed at her, "What I'm saying is that there is a lot more to think about because of this criminal's origins. What you might consider an act of violence could be part of his culture-"

"Don't care," Minerva flatly said, only irritating the Doctor more, "The way I see it is…he committed an act that just so happens to be illegal in America. Haven't you heard? 'You do the crime, you do the time.'"

"But he's an alien and it has to be deal with alien authorities-"

Minerva, flatly angry now, stood up with a slam on her desk, "The crime was committed in San Diego, California, United States, _Earth_ ," her voice rose with each word she spoke, "By a criminal who _lived_ in San Diego, California, United States, Earth, and lived as a _human_ , therefore he was charged just like a human, sentenced like a human, and will live his sentence just like a human. UNIT should be thankful that I didn't expose this person for who he really was, I did that act of kindness for the family he had. But anything else is out of my control and I will simply not lift a finger for him anymore. If that is all you had to say, the door is there," she pointed at the door.

"Look, I agree with all that, alright?" the Doctor raised his hands in surrender, "You're very logistical, he's lived like a human and therefore should be punished like a human, _but,_ " he held a finger to her before she opened her mouth, "Just like the human you are, you need to think about the other humans in that jail."

"What about them? They're all criminals," Minerva rolled her eyes and sat down again.

"Not just them, the guards, the janitors, the nurses, everyone who works in that jail run the risk of being attacked by the alien," the Doctor sighed, "Now, I don't think you thought of that, but I know this species very well."

"Yes, you and all the other UNIT employees definitely know," Minerva scoffed, "I'd believe that better from one of the Torchwood employees."

"How about you believe me because I'm also an alien," the Doctor clarified to her, leaving her mildly surprised, "I've seen the universe, Miss Souza, and believe me when I say that one of the characteristics of the males from the species of that criminal tend to be more violent and aggressive. By putting that criminal there, you've endangered the other prisoners and the employees."

Minerva let out a small, amused smile, "I assure you, Doctor, they're fine. They've got weapons, we're Americans, we know how to deal with situations like that."

"You're not understanding the severity of this, and later on it's going to come back and bite you."

"Is that a threat?" Minerva raised an eyebrow, looking angry once more.

"No," the Doctor set his hands on the desk and leaned forwards to her, "No, it's a warning of the future. I will not have a massacre because of one stubborn woman."

"And I will not allow some deranged English to come into _my_ office and tell me what I need to do to keep my own people safe. Get out!"

"I'm trying to help-"

"NO, you're not. You're just like any other man on this planet, thinking you know best well guess what? This firm is ran by my mother and soon-to-be me, _we_ know best in the justice system. No alien," she gritted her teeth and stood up, taking her glasses off once more and staring the Doctor in the eyes, "Gets to come in and tell me, a renown lawyer, what to do in cases. If the alien in prison tries anything he will be dealt with, make no mistake on that."

"You have such beautiful eyes, it's a shame they're overtaken with senseless anger and bitterness," the Doctor sighed, genuinely meaning the statement.

"Excuse me!?" Minerva blinked, setting down her glasses on the desk, "Who the hell do you think you are?"

"Someone who is just trying to help, Miss Souza."

"I don't need your help, and this is the last time I tell you to get out of my office or I'll call security…or, better yet, I'll throw you out myself," Minerva crossed her arms and gestured for him to walk out.

With a sigh, the Doctor picked up the briefcase he'd come in with and headed for the doors, "This isn't over, Miss Souza," he warned quietly, "I will make you change your mind."

Minerva scoffed, "There hasn't been a man born yet that's managed to do that."

"Well I wasn't born here, that's my advantage," the Doctor shrugged and left the office.

Minerva groaned in exasperation and fell back on her chair. What an irritating man! Who did he think he was just because he wasn't from Earth? As if she would ever let him persuade her to sway from the law. She laughed internally at the idea, what a fool he was.

~ 0 ~

After more hours of work, Minerva had finally gathered her things and left the firm. It was nearly eleven in the night now, a bit too late to be walking on the streets...not that she cared. She loved walking down the streets taking notice of every shop nearby. There were bakeries, there were boutiques, there were coffee shops. She loved all the diversity because it was such a break from the strict firm she practically lived in.

As she walked, however, she felt like someone was following her. She turned the corner of a crowded street just in case and then hid in a side-alley, watching for whoever it was that followed her. Of course when she found the culprit she became angrier than she'd been earlier.

"I can have you arrested for stalking, you know," she stepped out of the alley just as the Doctor had walked by, "I don't hesitate to put aliens in jail."

"Yes, I've noticed," the Doctor said as he turned around, not at all surprised he'd been caught. He hadn't been trying to hide from her, after all.

"I believe everything I said earlier tells you exactly what I'm going to say right now," Minerva stepped towards him, "Must you really force me to repeat myself?"

"Why are you so stubborn?" the Doctor said instead, startling her with the change of topic.

"E-excuse me?"

"You're so stubborn and with no apparent reason," he continued, "I mean, do you enjoy irritating people?"

"Excuse me?" Minerva's attitude had changed into anger again, " _I'm_ irritating? I'm not the one pestering someone to sway from her job. It's not my fault you don't understand the laws this country has and I am forced to uphold. I am a lawyer, I do my job for my people, if you don't like...tough," she spat and moved around him to continue walking.

"Who's the blonde woman you have a photograph on your desk?" the Doctor called, freezing her on her spot. Even from the distance and through the dark street he could see how the woman stiffened at the mention of the blonde woman.

Minerva slowly turned around, confused, "What?"

"The blonde woman in the photograph, the _only_ photograph you have I should add," the Doctor stuffed his hands in his pockets and shrugged, "Who is she?"

"None of your business, Doctor," she spat.

"I just want to know who she is, she seems important."

"...Olivia," Minerva swallowed as her gaze slightly fell, "My older sister."

"Hm, but in the picture she's younger than you are at the moment and there's no reason to keep such an outdated photograph, which would only mean one thing..." he started walking up to her with a smug face as he figured things out.

"Stop it," she warned but didn't move as he approached her.

"She's passed away," the Doctor said the hurtful words anyways, "And since she's the only family member you have on your desk it also means that..."

"Be quiet!"

"You and your family aren't close anymore," he stopped when he was in front of her, his smugness fading and exchanging for sympathy, "And you're alone."

Instead of bursting into more anger talks, Minerva's eyes teared up and turned away, "You know nothing of me, leave me alone," she started walking away again.

"A 35 year old, working late on a Friday night doesn't leave much to figure out," he followed her a couple steps back. Minerva chose to ignore him as he continued, "Your mother owns the firm and you work there but yet only converse when it comes to work. I'm sure there's a father somewhere in the picture but you don't talk to him anymore. He's not dead, if not you'd have him on the desk too."

"STOP IT!" Minerva yelled at him as she spun around, making him bump into her. Her eyes were red with the tears nearly spilling and her entire posture and expression had changed from that hard, cold lawyer into that of...a pained woman, "You do not get to come into my office and tell me what I have to do in my job then follow me out and tell me how torn my family is. You want that alien freed that bad that you resort to reminding me of the wounds that I carry with me every day of my existence?"

"No, that's not at all..." the Doctor blinked at the reactions he was getting from her. That wasn't his intention at all. He simply wanted to remind her that she'd be breaking up another family if she didn't follow with the necessary protocols for an alien criminal.

"You think that I don't ever stop and remember that I'm entirely alone in this world? That my sister is dead and my parents and I are torn beyond belief? Or how about that I don't talk to my own grandmother anymore?" she bitterly laughed, "Did you figure that one out too? I'm alone, I get it, content now?"

"This isn't what I wanted-"

"Then _what_ do you want from me?" she gritted her teeth, ignoring her tears that had began falling down her cheeks.

"I want you to do the right thing," he sighed.

"The right thing," Minerva bitterly laughed again, "You know the irony in that statement? Do the right thing, that's like the motto of my mother. And yet, she never did that with me. Congratulations, you broke me down in less than an hour. Feel good about yourself, cos right now I feel like trash."

"Miss Souza, I don't mean to cause you harm," he insisted, "I just wanted to make you see that you'd be breaking up another family if you don't follow with UNIT's protocols. That's all."

"That's all," Minerva repeated with sarcasm, clearing her face fast of tears, "Fine, you win. You want that alien transferred to UNIT? Fine. You've got it. Are we done here? Cos you're really the last person I want to see right now."

"No, we're not done here," the Doctor couldn't take the face the human had, especially since _he_ had caused it.

She leaned forwards, "Tough," and she turned around, finally getting away from the man.

Little did she know the Doctor was no where close to letting her go just like that.

~ 0 ~

It was past midnight now and Minerva couldn't find a peaceful sleep anywhere. She'd gotten home in a rather bad mood thanks to that Doctor and it was only making it harder for her to concentrate on her work. In the end, she opted for a good sleep. Seems like that wouldn't be working out either. She heard the doorbell ring and sighed as she got out of bed, slipping on her sleeping robe and tying it up before she put on slippers and went to the door.

She was more than upset to find the Doctor, once again, standing on the other side, "What can you possibly want _now_?" she glared at him.

"Lots of things actually," he shrugged with a bright smile, "The first being making you feel better after what I did."

"Great...apologize and get out," she shifted on her feet as she awaited.

"Right, sorry for what I said, didn't mean to make you feel bad," he nodded, "And as an extension I'd like for you to come with me somewhere."

"Right now?" Minerva raised an eyebrow.

"Aha."

"At 1:30 in the morning?"

"Yes."

Minerva tilted her head and stepped around from the door she'd been behind, "Let me get this straight," she pointed at him, "You want me to come with you, a complete stranger, at this hour in the night? Oh and in my pajamas."

"It's quick, I promise," the Doctor assured.

"Let me think about it," Minerva looked to the side and moved to shut the door on him.

The Doctor was quicker than her and stuck his foot between the hinge, "I don't think so."

"Go away before I call the police on you!" Minerva threatened as she tried closing the door anyways.

"I'm not trying to hurt you, why can't you see that?" the Doctor gently pushed the door open and therefore the woman herself back.

"Hm, maybe because you're the reason I can't sleep tonight?" Minerva crossed her arms as she sarcastically thought, "Or maybe because you're the one that forced me to sway from my job and the law. Or how about the fact you pointed out my family's problems. I'm pretty sure I'm not the wrong one here."

The Doctor rolled his eyes and closed the door, "I'm sorry, but you have to admit a lot of your problems _you_ said yourself," Minerva dropped her arms to her side, "I only said the first two, I think."

"Would you like me to apologize?" Minerva put a hand on her chest.

"And can you stop with the sarcasm, please," the Doctor sighed.

Minerva turned around and headed for the landline phone beside the couch, "I'm giving you till three to get out or I call the cops on you."

"And what exactly are you gonna tell them?" the Doctor challenged, "That an alien snuck into your house?"

Minerva frowned, "I don't have to tell the any of that. All I have to say is that some man just broke into my apartment. That usually does the trick for them."

The Doctor hurried over as the woman dialed and pulled her away, "Stop it!"

"You're in my apartment!"

"I'm trying to-"

"NO!" Minerva pushed him away, "God, don't you get it? I don't want you here! You've done enough! I gave you what you wanted now leave!"

"No!"

"Leave!"

"No!"

"LEAVE!"

Before it was the Doctor's turn the phone went off, startling him but not Minerva. He gestured for her to answer it if she wanted to but she simply crossed her arms and looked to the side, seeming like she was expecting it. With no one to answer, the answering machine cut in and the other line left a message for Minerva.

 _Joycelin? I don't know if you're sleeping, well, you better not," the woman, Sophia Souza, chuckled, "Not with all those cases you have. I have an emergency tomorrow and I need you take over the rest of the cases. It's Saturday but I know you've got nothing better to do so I'll leave the keys to the firm under the mat of the house. Firm should be empty tomorrow so you have the entire day to work on it. Don't fall behind or I'll fire you. Just because you're my daughter doesn't mean you get special treatment. Get to work!_

Minerva had grabbed the cord of the phone and snapped it from its spot. She slowly rose to her feet and stared at the machine.

Behind her, the Doctor was registering the message the woman, her mother apparently, had left. That wasn't a mother...that was...an awful boss.

"As you heard I have a lot of work to do," Minerva quietly spoke, her back to him, "Please do me the favor of throwing yourself out."

"I'm not leaving, especially after that," the Doctor reached out and turned her around, "That's your mother?" she nodded, "You sure?" she nodded, "Dear Lord, now I see why you're so bitter," Minerva raised her eyebrows at the comment and made him wince as he realize how that sounded, "Sorry, sorry," he made a face, "Not making this better, am I?"

"Why are you here?" Minerva was tired of it all and simply wanted to be left alone, "Just go away, you got what you wanted-"

"I know I haven't gone about this correctly but right now it really looks like you could use a friend..." the Doctor stepped closer to her, "You're lonely, aren't you?"

"What do you care?" Minerva looked up at him, "I tell you anything and once you walk out that door you'll forget all about me. I'm not gonna waste my breath on someone who doesn't care."

"I _do_ care," the Doctor snapped.

"No you don't!" Minerva sighed, "No one ever cares, don't try be the magical man who does care. I don't need it."

"I think you do, I _know_ you do, and it makes me sad to see you so willingly pushing away my help," the Doctor stared at the brunette who couldn't look him in the eyes anymore.

"No one cares," she mumbled.

"Is that what you've been taught?" he asked and her eyes flickered to his for a moment, "No one cares."

"No one cares so look out for yourself," Minerva finished, "My mother taught me that. In this life no one cares for you except yourself...not even your own mother."

"That's not true," the Doctor regretted to inform her, seeing the hurt etched on her face and set deeply in her eyes, "Isn't there one person that cared for you? Cares?"

"...my grandfather," Minerva gave a small smile, "He cared, but then he died."

"How come he's not on your desk, then?"

Minerva hesitated to answer, she didn't even know why she was beginning to sway in her anger in the first place, "Olivia was a different story."

"What kind?"

"...the kind where my mother constantly blames me for my sister's death."

"Blimey," the Doctor blinked, "Why do you work for her then? No offence but she doesn't sound like a good mum."

"Cos she's the only mom I have," Minerva shrugged with a sigh, "You're right, I'm alone...and I don't want to be alone. She's all I got."

"But your father? Your grandmother? There must be other family members. Your friends! Yeah, what about them?"

Minerva fidgeted at the question and instead of answering she walked back to the door and opened it up, "Can you please go? I don't feel like telling my life story to an alien I don't even know."

The Doctor saw the woman clearly wanted to keep talking but at the same time was in far too much pain to do so. She looked hurt, put down, and he guessed it was because of that mother of hers, "Come with me," he said suddenly, making her blink again, "Let me show you something."

"No thank you," she shook her head, "You say 'let me show you something' and next thing I know I turn up dead on the street."

"Do I look like a murderer?"

"I don't know you, that's my point!"

"Look into my eyes and tell me I look like someone who wants to hurt you," the Doctor ordered as he walked up to her again and stared at her.

Minerva reluctantly did as told and looked up into his brown eyes, feeling timid as she did so. The more she looked the less angry she felt for some reason, "N-no...I guess not," she whispered.

The Doctor smiled at the answer, "Then let me take you somewhere, yeah? I promise I'll have you back in five minutes."

"Where are we going?"

"I think you need a very calm place right now, maybe to talk," the Doctor reached behind her and opened the door.

"Well, I need to get changed..." Minerva started backing away.

"Not a problem, no one is gonna see you, trust me," the Doctor took her hand and tried pulling her.

"I'm not going out in my pajamas!"

"You have a robe on, it's not like it matters!"

"Maybe not to you! But here, people definitely care!"

"Miss Souza, please just let it all go and c'mon," the Doctor nodded to the hallway before straightening up, "What's your name, actually?"

"Minerva," she sheepishly said.

"But your mother said another-"

"I don't like that name," she mumbled, "Never have."

"Well then, _Minerva_ , come with me," he re-took her hand and pulled her out of her apartment.

Minerva had no idea what she was doing. How on earth could she let some strange man, not even human, take her out of her apartment, past midnight, in her pajamas!? Who the hell was she!? She'd never done anything outrageous like this! And frankly...it was a bit exciting...

The Doctor ran them through the empty streets with such happiness it surprised Minerva. Nearly 2 A.M. and the man was wide awake like it was early in the afternoon. She herself wasn't very tired but that wasn't rare. She rarely slept at times because of all the cases and sometimes...often...she would think about her shabby life. That was enough to take her sleep for the entire night!

When the Doctor stopped in front of the TARDIS, Minerva was more than reluctant to go inside. This was it. This was the sign telling her she'd done a terrible mistake and was about to pay for it with her life.

"I am not going in there..." she snatched her hand from the Doctor and backed away.

"Oh n-n-n-no!" he looked between her and the blue box, "It's bigger on the inside, I swear it."

"Do you think of me an idiot?" she raised an eyebrow.

"No, now c'mon," he pushed open the doors and allowed Minerva the view of a golden interior, "Take a look," he nodded inside.

Minerva slowly went towards the doorway again, curious at the glow. She gasped lightly when she saw the bigger room inside, ornately decorated. She stepped inside and flinched as she heard a hum, "What's that!?" she asked in terror.

"She talks, sort of," the Doctor gently pushed her inside so he could come and close the doors.

"The box... _talks_?"

"Yes, well hums, actually," the Doctor shook off his coat and chucked it to the rail then ran up to the console.

"What is this?" Minerva remained where she was as she took the entire room in.

"This is a TARDIS, travels through space and time," the Doctor smirked, "Basically, it's my spaceship."

"And you're all alone..." Minerva judged by the lack of people in the room. If anyone would've been around they would've come out already to greet or wonder why she was there.

The Doctor's smirk faded at the words and turned to the controls instead. Minerva watched the man move around switching flicks and knobs all around. She was about to take a step forwards when the box lurched and sent her to the rail, her hair falling from her loose scrunchie.

"What's going on!?" she cried as she held on for dear life.

"Sorry, sorry!" the Doctor called as he finally settled the box in the destination he wanted for her, "She does that...a lot..."

"You're a terrible pilot," she declared as she stood up straight and looked at her fallen hair over her shoulders.

"Not terrible, just...more fun," the Doctor hurried back to her, "Nice hair," he remarked at her long, cascading hair, "Should leave it like that more often."

"Are you kidding me? My mother wants me to chop it off," Minerva sighed, "Keeping it in a bun is the only way I make her happy."

"Have you ever thought of...I don't know...leaving your mother?" the Doctor cautiously asked as he reached for the doors.

"I don't have anywhere to go," Minerva said plainly, alerting the Doctor she had thought of it before.

"Oh, there's always somewhere..."

"Not when you don't want to be alone," she mumbled, "Like it or not she's my mom and she's the only mom I have. I can't go anywhere."

"I'm really sorry you think like that," the Doctor opened the doors for her to see out, 'Because there are so many wonders this universe holds it's almost a crime to stay home."

Minerva's eyes widened as she saw outer-space on the other side. There were beautiful, bright stars just glowing away in their natural state. As the Doctor stepped back, she moved forwards and peered out, suddenly forgetting everything. She was no longer that lawyer her mother wanted, no longer the lonely woman with no sister, no longer the woman without friends. She was just...a stargazer.

She leaned her head on the door-hinge and continued to stare out, her eyes tearing up as she looked out and slowly the memories of her past began filling her head. The Doctor silently backed away and let her have the moment she so clearly needed.

"When I was younger, my grandfather and I used to watch the stars," Minerva said quietly. The Doctor was unsure if she was telling _him_ as a conversation or if she was just reminiscing something to herself, "Every day, we'd sit in the backyard and watch them. If he could see this now..."

The Doctor was at the console now, staring at the woman at the doorway. From there, he could hear her quiet sniffles and even see her body shaking from the tears she was surely letting loose. The only thing he couldn't see were her tainted red eyes from her tears. He felt sorry for her, truly sorry she'd been 'gifted' with the life she had now. He could've helped her, he knew that. He could've helped her get out of this place, away from her family and find happiness.

If only he'd met her sooner.

* * *

 _Author's Note:_

This is my first gloomy-type one-shot so hopefully it was alright! I picture this as a 'what if' type of thing. Like, what if the Doctor and Minerva never met each other so Sophia got her way and convinced Minerva to come back home? She stays home, life goes to hell, and she's bitter, broken, and unhappy? Yikes! Thank Lord for the Martian, am I right!?

 _For reviews:_

I knoooowww! I am a sucker for baby one-shots and you can definitely expect more of Marina! Glad to hear you're liking the one-shots!

Right? It's like, the bath kind of wakes you up and next thing you know you're put to bed. Um, no thank you!


	6. Click

_Author's Note:_

 _This is an AU one-shot involving Minerva and the 10th Doctor :)_

 _Enjoy!_

* * *

Minerva Souza walked into her office and set down on her desk a folder she'd been carrying. She smiled softly as she found a small, white teddy bear set on the center of her desk. She picked up the bear and plucked the white card the bear held in its paws.

 _i carry your heart with me(i carry it in_

 _my heart)i am never without it(anywhere_

 _i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done_

 _by only me is your doing,my darling)_

 _i fear_

 _no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want_

 _no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)_

 _and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant_

 _and whatever a sun will always sing is you_

 _here is the deepest secret nobody knows_

 _(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud_

 _and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows_

 _higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)_

 _and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart_

 _i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)_

 ** _Your secret admirer xx._**

Minerva smiled to herself and rested the tip of the card on her lip as she processed what she'd read. She felt butterflies in her stomach and a tingle run up and down her back. She carefully set the teddy bear back on her desk along with the card then walked out of her office.

"Jana," she stopped by her secretary's desk, also her best friend, "Has anyone been in my office today?"

The blonde secretary looked up from the computer screen and shook her head, "Nope."

"Are you sure no one went in?" Minerva insisted, her best friend was one for keeping secrets like those to "make her happy" but right now the only thing that would truly make Minerva happy was to know who her admirer was.

"No," Jana leaned forwards, a small smirk playing on her lips, "Did it happen again?"

Minerva looked around and leaned as well, "Yes," she whispered and nearly had to cover Jana's mouth with the shriek the blonde gave, "Jana! Be quiet!"

"Sorry, sorry," the blonde tried composing herself, "It's just...wow that man is sneaky. I've been here all day and I haven't seen anything!"

"This is getting tiring, I just want them to tell me already!"

"I've got a way," Jana whispered and motioned for Minerva to come closer, "The old Click test."

"Click?" Minerva raised an eyebrow.

"Click," Jana nodded excitedly, "See, when my mom met my dad, she wasn't sure if he was going to be 'the one'," she put air-quotation marks, "But then there was this one moment, an itty-bitty moment, where everything just...fell into place," her smile turned soft as she continued talking, "And then she felt it... _click_. That first spark that sent out an entire relationship."

Minerva couldn't help but laugh, "I'm sorry, but you want me to base my feelings over an imaginary clicking sound? That's ridiculous!"

"It's not ridiculous! It's real, I'm telling you," Jana insisted, not helping the laugh herself, "Look, I know I say a lot of ridiculous stuff but this is actually true. You'll know what I'm talking about when it happens to you."

"Yeah, we'll see," Minerva playfully rolled her eyes and turned to look out into the reception room where respective employees worked. She worked in a publicity company and she was one of the head employees. She hadn't planned on it, really. She'd entered as an intern after graduaing from college, really only aiming for an assistant job. But with her creativity and her artwork (and a good co-worker) she was able to climb through the ranks of the jobs and ended up in the position she was in today.

She'd made several friends over the years and she just had to discover who this secret admirer was. It had started over a month ago. Each day she walked into her office there was some type of small gift waiting for her, and it was always signed by a secret admirer. She had her suspicion, or at least hope, that it was the person she believed it was. But there was no way to confirm, unless she tried being discreet about it?

~ 0 ~

"Minerva?" a young man around Minerva's age poked his head into her office, "Can I come in?"

Minerva immediately looked up from work on her desk, "Gavin," she rose to her feet, "Of course you can come in, c'mon," she motioned for him to enter.

That was the man she _really_ hoped was the secret admirer.

Gavin was around her age and to her he was perfect. He was tall and had dirty blonde hair that curled at the tips. His eyes were piercing green likes hers, but Minerva liked to think his eyes had an extra gleam. He was always formally dressed for work but knew how to have fun when outside. He was Minerva's boss, basically, but also a very good friend. And at times, Minerva felt like he had feelings for her. There were times where she felt like Gavin looked at her longer than was needed, there were extra touches on the arms, hands, and sometimes even faces. They'd gone out a couple times, sometimes alone and sometimes with friends, but Minerva dearly wanted to believe that Gavin was simply shy and left her the gifts in secret.

"Um, so this is sort of not work-related," Gavin began as he closed the door of the office and walked towards the desk.

"It's not?" Minerva stood up and moved around the desk, leaning on the edge.

"No, it's in regards of tomorrow," Gavin stopped in front of her, "It's sort of special."

"Tomorrow," Minerva beamed, tomorrow was special indeed, "What about it?"

"You know it's Halloween tomorrow and in the spirit the company is hosting a Halloween party."

"Aha..." Minerva anxiously awaited for this point in all this.

"Um, and I was wondering if you were going to come around tomorrow night? You know, if you don't have any plans?"

"Nope, totally free," Minerva chuckled nervously, "And it's actually kinda sad considering what's tomorrow..."

"Oh? Cos it's Halloween? Don't worry about it," Gavin playfully nudged her.

"Right...cos it's _only_ Halloween?" Minerva's smile faltered as she realized Gavin had no idea what tomorrow was apart from Halloween.

"Yeah, see? It's just another casual Friday," Gavin shrugged.

"Right..." Minerva looked down for a moment. How could he just forget that?

"I was hoping you could bring in some type of dessert," Gavin finally got to his point, only furthering Minerva's disappointment, "We're running a bit low in that department. Can you do it?"

Minerva nodded quietly, "Yeah, sure..."

"Thanks!" Gavin exclaimed and hugged her, "You're a life-saver!"

"Yup, that's me," Minerva tried to keep her good smile on.

As Gavin pulled away he took notice of the white teddy bear that was on the desk, now pushed to the edge for Minerva to be able to work in, "Oh, nice bear. Who gave it to you?"

"Hm?" Minerva turned and looked at the bear, suddenly getting another idea, "Oh, um...you know, secret admirer...kind of a thing...say, Gavin, by any chance did you come in earlier today?"

"Yeah, I did, actually. Wanted to get ahead of the work," Gavin nodded, "Why?"

"No reason," Minerva shared a small smile and moved over to the bear, "Someone gave this to me this morning, don't know who. But I think it's incredibly sweet," she eyed Gavin with hope that he would confess there and then, "I would love it if, you know, they would confess already."

"Yeah, must be hell of annoying," Gavin agreed without a clue.

Minerva sighed with resignation. Perhaps she could try again later, "Well, better get back to work, then."

"Yes!" Gavin nodded, "So, party, tomorrow, then?" Minerva nodded, "Great! Promise it'll be fun, I took care of it myself."

Minerva managed a small smile, though fake, "Looking forwards to it. Cos you know what's tomorrow...?"

"Halloween," Gavin finished and once again disappointed her.

"Just...Halloween," Minerva forced herself to agree. Gavin gave another nod and headed out the office, leaving the door opened. She sighed heavily and leaned on her desk again, picking up her bear, "Just another casual Friday," she repeated with a scoff.

"Minerva?" a different voice called as there was another knock on her door. Minerva looked up from her bear to see another of her co-workers standing at her doorway, "I've got the schedule you were asking for."

"Right, thanks, John," Minerva set her bear down and stood away from her desk, "But I asked Jana for it."

"Oh, well, I was already on my way here and I saw poor Jana struggling with some other work so I offered to take this to you," John held the file Minerva wanted.

"Thanks," Minerva took the folder from him and set it on her desk, "Is there something you needed from me?"

"Yes, I know you wanted to get the shipment in by next week but I think I can get them in earlier. I just need your authorization."

"Course, go ahead and do it, then," Minerva waved it off. She really had no head for work and much less shippings.

"I know we're on the same level but I still need your signature," John chuckled, "I've got the contract in my office if you want to go and sign it already."

"Um...do you think we can do that later?" Minerva didn't feel like walking out and acting like everything was going fine.

"Sure...are you okay?" John picked up on the avoidance of work Minerva was trying to do. He knew Minerva very well and work was one of her main priorities, something big and bad had to be happening for her to be doing that.

"Truthfully...no," Minerva sighed and turned to her desk, once again looking at her bear, something John didn't miss, "It's stupid but..."

"Hey," John set a hand on her arm, "It's not stupid if it's real and bothering you. You can tell me, you know I won't say anything."

Minerva gave a small smile, "I know you won't," she whispered.

She had met John only a couple days after first entering the company as an intern, and it was actually thanks to him that she'd managed to go through the levels of employment in the company. He was only a couple years older than her but he was far beyond intelligent and creative, thus his opinion had made a real case when it came the promotions she would receive or not. Apart from that, he was a good man, good friend.

"You wanna talk, then?" John nudged her a bit.

"It's this thing," Minerva pointed to the bear, "I think I know who gave it to me but I can't make him tell me."

"Maybe it's because he didn't give it to you..."

"No, it has to be him," Minerva sighed, "I mean, who else? Plus, I kinda want it to be him. So how do I get him to confess?"

"You'd have to straight up confront him," John informed her with a sad smile.

"I guess so," Minerva shook her head then rubbed the side of her face, "I think I'll do it tomorrow," she decided, "Better place and if it turns out to be him, then..." she smiled a little, "...what a wonderful night it would be."

"Yeah," John quietly said.

"So are you going?" Minerva turned to him, "To the Halloween party?"

"I'm thinking about it," he shrugged, "Don't know though, it's not really my thing."

"I don't even have a costume yet," Minerva admitted to him, "Definitely it'll make it harder to decide whether I should go or not. Do you have a costume?"

"Uh, no, no...not yet."

"Well," Minerva moved around her desk where her chair was and sighed, "I'll talk to you later and I'll come by and sign the authorization."

"Right," John nodded and backtracked, "See you later. And, just in case I don't see you anymore, happy early birthday."

Minerva looked at him with mild surprise, "You remembered..."

"Of course I remember," John smiled, "It's right up here," he tapped the side of his head and made her chuckle.

"Thank you," Minerva quietly said, touched that at least he remembered it wasn't just some casual Friday.

As John left, Minerva sat back down and resumed her work, though stopped and glanced at her bear. She didn't notice the lingering look John cast her way at the doorway. He smiled lightly as she picked up the bear and took the card it held, rereading the poem again.

~ 0 ~

The next day, in the night, Minerva and Jana headed for the building in which their Halloween party would be held in. Another day had passed and, quite frankly, Minerva wasn't in the mood to be celebrating Halloween nor her own birthday. She thought since it was a special day, she would finally get her admirer reveal their self, but not one phone call did she receive. Jana had finally came over and picked Minerva up, the blonde woman dressed as Wonder Woman. She'd, once again, rambled on and on about the Click-test to Minerva on the way to the party and, just like the last time, Minerva had discarded it completely.

Now, they entered the building to find a 'party' atmosphere. As Jana headed over to greet some people, Minerva went over to the dessert table to place down the dessert she'd been asked to bring.

"Min, you've made it," she heard Gavin coming towards her. She looked up in time to see him arrive, holding a drink in hand and dressed as a pirate with an eye patch and all.

"You look good," Minerva chuckled as she touched the fake parrot on Gavin's shoulder.

"You like?" Gavin turned to allow her to see the parrot, letting Minerva realize he was just a bit drunk which was really unlike him since he rarely drank at all.

"It's so cute," Minerva stepped back, "Would be even cuter if it was actually real. But all in all, you look good."

Gavin took notice of her appearance and breathed, "You look..."

Minerva blushed and pushed a strand of her hair back. She'd opted for a classic Little Red Riding Hood costume. It consisted of an off-the-shoulder, white blouse with puffy round sleeves, a black corset tied up with black ribbons in form of x's in front and the back. The red, rather puffy, skirt reached several inches above her knees. She accompanied it with knee-length, white socks with red bows on top. Her sparkly, red, heeled shoes matched her silky, red cape draped over her shoulders.

"...completely sexy," Gavin finished with a breath.

Minerva blushed deeply, "Th-thanks..." there was an awkward period of silence and in the meantime Minerva's mind raced to figure out a way to tell him she knew his secret. But as she moved to open her mouth, she lost control. It was like a battle, actually, and she was losing!

"Whoops!" Gavin had accidentally dropped a bit of his drink on the floor, "That's a sure sign I've gotta stop..." he laughed.

"Gavin I know you're it," Minerva had bluntly declared, even gasping a little afterwards when she realized she'd said it.

"Know I'm what?" the man blinked at her, barely there with her words. His eyes kept trailing her up and down so he was not really registering her statements.

"You're my secret admirer who's been leaving me small gifts every day for the past month," Minerva found some courage to continue. She was playing all her cards and so went all for it. She stepped closer to him and smiled, "And I know you've been stupid to throw me off track but it's okay now, cos I know it's you. You're him, right?"

"Secret...admirer," Gavin looked to the side as he thought about it.

"Listen, I know this must be awkward for you but don't you think we should talk about this in a less crowded place?" Minerva took his hand and bit her lip, "Cos I want to know everything, why you did it..." she took a shaky breath and looked up at him, "...I like you, and I think this can really work. So, you want to leave?"

"Us two? Alone?" Gavin blinked again, once again his eyes starting up from her legs, "S-sure...yeah," he started smiling, "I'm it, I'm the...admirer, yup."

Minerva beamed, "Great! Do you want to leave now, then?"

"U-um, how about you give me a couple of minutes to, um...leave everything in order around here? You can get a head start, if you'd like. We can go to the bar two blocks down?"

"Sounds great," Minerva couldn't stop smiling of excitement.

Gavin smiled back and even leaned down to give her a kiss on the lips, "I'll be back then so we can...go be alone," he drank down the rest of his drink and walked off.

Not a minute after he had left, Jana came rushing towards Minerva with a squeal, "Did I just see what I think I saw!?"

Minerva nodded and laughed of embarrassment, "I think so," she pushed a strand of her hair behind her shoulder, "It was him, Jana. He said it, it really was him. We're meeting at the bar!"

"And already got a kiss," Jana nudged her, "So did you feel the 'click'? It was wonderful, right?"

Minerva rolled her eyes, "Jana, there is no such thing as the 'click'."

Jana stopped smiling and tilted her head, "Wait a minute, you didn't feel the click? But Min, that's crucial!"

"Not when it's not real," Minerva turned to the table behind and picked up a small cookie.

"Uh, YES," Jana turned the brunette around abruptly, "I'm telling you it's true and it's crucial for your relationship, it shows there actually _is_ a relationship with feelings."

"Jana, he complemented me, he said I looked 'completely sexy', what more do you want?"

Jana made a face, "Well, yeah, alright, that's a good starter but this is more important. It's the-"

"Jana, it's a party and I can _still_ here you from across the room," John interrupted as he joined the two women, slightly amused at the blonde.

Minerva sharply looked at Jana for her errors, the last thing she needed was for everyone to find out, "Excuse her, she's had far too many drinks."

"Have not," Jana declared but received an elbow in the ribs that quickly made her nod in agreement.

"You're a magician," Minerva studied the costume John wore. He was in a black suit with a white, buttoned-up, shirt. There was a bright red bow-tie around his neck, black shoes and even a black top-hat over his head, "Have you pulled out any rabbits from your hat yet?" Minerva chuckled as John pulled off his hat and checked for anything inside.

"Uh, no, they're on a break," he informed casually and placed his hat back on, "And what do we have? Wonder woman," he pointed at Jana, "And Little Red Riding Hood," he looked at Minerva with a smile, "You look beautiful."

Jana took notice of the complement, realizing it really had been only for...Minerva.

"Thank you," Minerva sheepishly accepted the comment. She looked around for any sign of Gavin, she was looking forwards to hearing all about his quest as her admirer, "Um, I gotta go," she politely said to John.

"Already?" John sounded confused, "I thought you just got here."

"Yeah, but it's just..." Minerva looked around and sighed, "...it happened," she moved closer to him so she wouldn't have to speak as loud, "I knew who my secret admirer is."

"Y-you do?" John blinked, looking startled.

"Mhm, it was Gavin," Minerva nodded, "And we're going to meet in a couple minutes. So I really have to go," she smiled and started off when she gave a loud a yelp as her foot slipped suddenly.

Even through John's confusion he managed to hurry and catch the falling brunette right on time. Minerva felt his arm around her back and looked up at him, no words coming to mind nor movements, except...

 _Click_

Minerva ended the moment there and then after that odd feeling. She cleared her throat as she stood straight, "Th-thanks, for that," she said to John and cautiously stepped back, "I-I gotta go...now..."

"Right," John nodded, also clearing his throat, "G-good luck," he lightly sighed as she went off.

All the meanwhile of the moment, Jana had been there and examining, and there was suddenly a small laughter from her lips, "...it was _you_..." she pointed at him.

John looked at her in confusion, "Excuse me?"

"That's how the gifts made it to the office every day," Jana was in the middle of realizing, "Every morning you had some 'work' to hand over to Minerva...so you went into the office, and me, thinking nothing of it, never went to check for the gift. It was only until Minerva came into work. Oh, you're a clever man, I'll give you that," she pointed again.

"Jana, I have no idea what you're talking about," John shook his head.

"It's you, you're the secret admirer," Jana laid it for him with a smile.

"N-no, I'm not..." but John was beginning to get flustered, "...i-it's so n-not me...no..."

"How did you get by if you're an awful liar?" Jana ignored him and crossed his arms. She gasped as something important truly hit her, "Oh my God," she put a hand on her chest, "And Minerva's going out with Gavin right now. You have to stop them!"

"I'm not doing that," John turned to the table and pretended to look around the treats.

"You _have_ to," Jana declared, "She's going out thinking _he's_ the admirer."

"Minerva's always had some affection for Gavin, I'm not gonna ruin that for her," John quietly said, suppressing the pain at just the thought of Minerva with that other man.

"She's blinded," Jana corrected, "And, even if it was so, she still deserves to know the truth...just like _you_ deserve to tell her the truth as well."

"Jana, the only reason I'm going to tell you the truth is because you're Minerva's best friend and I know you're not gonna tell her anything," John looked at her solemnly, "Yes, it was me, it's been me for a month. No, I will not tell her, because I know just how much she wanted it to be Gavin and I will not break her dream."

"So...you're just going to let another man take your place?" Jana looked to the side, specifically to the party and saw something that caught her eye.

"It was never my place," John looked down.

"Could be if you said something..."

"I'm not the man she wants, I'm not Gavin," John sighed with resignation.

"Mm, okay, so tell me, then," Jana finally looked at him again, her arms crossed, "Do _you_ flirt endlessly while your drunk with the first woman you see?"

"Hm?"

"Because that's exactly the man you're letting Minerva go out with," Jana pointed to the side, the direction, she'd been looking at.

John, confused, followed her pointed finger out to the party. While Minerva had already left the party, Gavin was still around. He was still drinking and was now flirting with a different woman.

"He's supposed to be gone already," Jana continued to talk while John stared, "I'm sure Minerva wants to know all about her admirer and she's probably waiting for him right now...but instead he's flirting with some woman. _That's_ the man you think she deserves?" she looked at John questioningly, "Well?"

~ 0 ~

Minerva was sitting inside a small bar, waiting for Gavin to arrive. She'd been there for a good fifteen minutes and she was frankly getting a bit worried. Sure, Gavin seemed a bit drunk but something big had to stop him from coming on time, right? But sooner or later he'd come in and they would start talking and finally get to know each other.

"Minerva?" she heard her name by a familiar voice but not the one she was expecting. She looked up and found John slowly approaching her table.

"John? What are you doing here?" Minerva blinked.

"Um..." John stopped in front of the table, "...uh, there's something I need to tell you."

"I don't mean to sound rude, and I really hope you don't take it the wrong way, but can we talk some other time?" Minerva cautiously requested, "See, I'm meeting Gavin-"

"He's not coming," John interjected as he pulled the chair across her and plonked down.

"Excuse me?" Minerva raised an eyebrow.

"Gavin, he's, uh, he's not coming," John repeated.

"Why...why would you say something like that?"

"Because I saw him...and talked to him before coming here," John leaned on the table with a sad expression, "Now I really hope you don't get upset by this, because he's not worth it, but, um...he sort of forgot about you."

"What are you talking about, John?" Minerva couldn't understand why he was saying things like that.

"Minerva, I'm sure you noticed Gavin was a bit drunk, so I'm sure he wouldn't naturally do this to you or anyone else, but the fact is...for tonight...he forgot he was meeting you," John sighed, "And I know this because I confronted him about it...after I saw him flirting with another woman."

"What?" Minerva whispered, her face slowly falling.

"I'm sorry, I'm really, really, sorry, okay? I would _never_ break your heart but in this case, I had to tell you."

"I don't...I don't understand," Minerva put a hand on her head, "He wouldn't do that...he's my..." she whispered and looked at him, "...he said he was coming, he's my secret admirer."

"I don't think he was," John quietly said, his heart breaking at the sight of her.

"But he said he was, he said it to my face," Minerva's voice broke at that, "Plus before that, he complemented me...couldn't keep his eyes off me."

"Minerva, with all due respect, you look bloody gorgeous, it's impossible to keep one's eyes to them selves," John tried to smile for her but she was just downright upset and heartbroken.

"He...lied," Minerva was processing it slowly. She rested her elbows on the table and dug her hands into her hair as she thought, "Of course it wasn't him, it could never have been him. God, I was so stupid," small tears rolled down her face.

"No, no, don't think that," John wasn't quite sure what to do next. He wanted to do was hold her and do whatever it took to make her feel better, but for her he was just a friend.

"But it's true," Minerva sniffled, "How could I ever think that someone like Gavin would ever take the time to leave me little, sweet notes and gifts for someone like... _me_. It was stupid, all stupid..." she lowered her head into her arms and quietly sniffled to herself.

John cautiously reached for her hand but hesitated to do so in the end. Minerva was broken, and it was partly his fault for not telling her the truth a long time ago. He never wanted to cause her any pain, that was by far the last thing he wanted to do to her. He took a deep breath and opened his mouth, "The fountains mingle with the river, And the rivers with the ocean; The winds of heaven mix forever With a sweet emotion; Nothing in the world is single; All things by a law divine In another's being mingle- Why not I with thine?"

Minerva slowly raised her head up as she heard the familiar words of the poem she'd received a couple days ago.

John hoped he was doing the right thing for her ass he gently gripped her hand, "See, the mountains kiss high heaven, And the waves clasp one another; No sister flower could be forgiven If it disdained its brother; And the sunlight clasps the earth, And the moonbeams kiss the sea..."

"What are all these kissings worth, if thou kiss not me," Minerva had joined in on the last verse and said it simultaneously with him. She rubbed some of her tears off her face with her free hand, "H-how did you know that poem? You just happened to read Percy Bysshe Shelley?"

John closed his eyes as he collected his last shred of courage to tell her, "It's me... _I'm_ your secret admirer."

"What..." Minerva whispered and took her hand back, giving him the wrong impression.

"I know, I know," he sighed and opened his eyes again, "Definitely not what you wanted, and for that I'm truly sorry."

"All this time it's been... _you_ ," Minerva reviewed the words she'd just heard.

"Yes," John nodded.

"But...why...how..." Minerva couldn't focus clearly.

"I'm sorry for dumping it out on you, especially tonight," John sighed, "Believe me, this was _not_ the plan."

"Then what was the plan?" she cut him off, slightly irritated with him, "You were going to let me go out with someone who lied to me?"

"I couldn't tell you because I knew how much you liked Gavin-"

"Because I thought it was him," Minerva nearly exclaimed then took a pause to recollect herself, "I think Gavin is great, and I liked him a little but then when I got the gifts and I thought it was him...I liked him more. But now I discover he lied and...that just goes to hell. What were you thinking? You should've said something!"

"I-I couldn't," John stuttered to speak, "It's hard..."

"Why?"

"Because I _love_ you," John's voice rose slightly louder than hers and left her stunned. He looked down at the table while Minerva waited for him to continue, "You know I do, it's what the gifts said. I love you and I just...wanted you to be happy, didn't matter who you were happy with," Minerva's expression softened as those words left John's mouth, "And, every time you got a gift your face would just...light up, and there was a twinkle in your eyes," John started smiling as he spoke, "You were _so_ happy. And even if you talked about someone else, it was okay because, because _you_ were happy. That's all that mattered."

"But it was all a _lie_ ," Minerva whispered, "All that time I kept thinking how wonderful and thoughtful Gavin was when the reality was _you_ were it. _You_ took the time to pick out gifts and poems for me," she took his hand and smiled softly, "Thank you."

"You're going to be fine," John promised her, gripping her hand, "I'm sure of it."

"You've got some explaining to do, mister," she warned and chuckled at his confusion.

"I-I do?"

"I've known you since I was 23 and now, on my 30th birthday, you tell me you're in love with me? Oh yeah, _definitely_ some explaining needed."

"Oh, well, um," Minerva followed his eyes around the room and realized perhaps this wasn't his ideal place for such an important story.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" she offered, "Park's about a street down, if you, um...want to go..."

"Yeah, that'll work," John quickly got up from his chair and went over to help Minerva stand.

"Thank you," she said as she took his hand to stand.

Without another word, the two left the bar and headed for the park. Ten minutes later would find Minerva and John sitting on a bench, Minerva turned to face John and was patiently listening to him and his story of how all this got started.

"I'm sorry, I just didn't have the courage to tell you anything, so I came up with this whole 'secret admirer' thing to sort of build my courage up," John sighed and glanced at the staring brunette, "...but I think I just hurt you in the end."

"No, no, you didn't..." Minerva didn't want him to think this was all his fault, _She_ was the one who had nearly forced the identity on Gavin, "... _you_ didn't," she clarified then sighed, "But I gotta say, it would've been a lot easier if you had just told me directly how you felt. I mean, how long have you...felt like that? When we met? Is that why you helped me get the promotions then?"

"NO, I helped you because I thought you were a good worker, someone who loved what they were doing and actually gave a damn about it," John clarified thoroughly, "I didn't develop any of these feelings until afterwards...when we had our first co-project together, remember?"

Minerva blinked with wide eyes, her mouth nearly falling open, " _That_ long?" John nodded and looked away, "But that was five years ago!"

"Well...I'm not very good with words," John rubbed the side of his neck, "In the beginning I wanted to tell you but every time I opened my mouth something else came out. I got far too nervous and I just couldn't...I couldn't..." somewhere inside Minerva she felt a tingle knowing that someone was _that_ nervous of _her_ , "But not anymore," he turned to her, "Because of my silence I hurt you-"

"No," Minerva tried again but was cut off this time by a determined man.

"I love you, Minerva," John swallowed hard, feeling his heart nearly bursting with how string and fast it was beating, "I've loved you for years and I'm pretty sure I'll love you for the rest of my life. I became your secret admirer because I thought it would give me the courage and motive to tell you everything, and this is it: I love you."

Minerva smiled softly, putting a hand over his chest, over his heart, "Was that too hard, John?"

"Y-yes," he nodded, his eyes stuck on her hand.

"I can only imagine," she sighed, taking her hand back, "And I'm sorry for making it harder on you. Here I was talking about some other guy being so sweet for leaving me all these gifts and poems..."

"I was honestly just happy to know you liked the gifts and poems," John admitted nervously with a small smile.

"I _loved_ them all," Minerva corrected him, "All of them," she chuckled, "You are quite the Romeo, you know. I loved your poems, they were so cute and..." she blushed and looked to the side, "...I loved them," she decided to end it with that. She didn't want to go into detail about how much she loved them. She felt a bit awkward telling him now that she knew it was him.

"I know this is a lot to take in, would you like for me to take you home?" John asked cautiously. He didn't expect anything from her concerning her feelings, he just wanted her to have a good birthday, and yet he knew it was far too late.

"I think...yeah," Minerva nodded, deciding she had a lot of thinking to do, "I came with Jana but I bet she's gone already. I'll take your ride."

John stood up and held a hand for her, "May I, birthday girl?"

Minerva gave a small smile and took it, "I'm 30, now, I'm no where near young."

"Hey, I'm older than you," he reminded and made her laugh, "What are you trying to say?" Minerva kept laughing while John stared at her with a soft smile. At least he would have the satisfaction of making her laugh on her birthday.

~ 0 ~

Minerva was waiting for John outside the party, leaned on the front of his car. He'd arrived with his younger sister who had kept the keys and so had to go back inside to retrieve them. She didn't want to step foot inside for fear of how she would react if she saw Gavin. She was furious with him for lying and wondered just _why_ he had lied in the first place? He never noticed her in any other way than a friend and suddenly she put on a short dress with knee socks and he couldn't stop staring at her? That...was wrong. Could that really have been the man she fawned over so much?

"Minerva?" Jana's voice broke through Minerva's thoughts. The blonde had stepped out of the building, looking ready to go home, "You're back?"

"Yeah," Minerva stood off the car as Jana came over, "I was waiting for John to come out, he was going to take me home."

A small gasp escaped through Jana's lips, "You know?" Minerva nodded with a small smile, "How could we have been so clueless!? Of course it had to be John, who else? He was always with you when you needed help, he was there for you and-"

"I get it, Jana, he's been with me through a lot," Minerva thought just how many times it had been John she confided in than anyone else, sometimes including Jana.

"So you're going back to your place, then?" Jana gave her a nudged and smirk.

"He's _only_ taking me home," Minerva clarified and crossed her arms.

"Aw, what?" Jana pouted, "Why? He's your secret admirer!"

"Yes, and for that same reason I have to think about what I'm going to do," Minerva sighed and played with her foot, "He says he loves me, Jana..."

Jana raised her eyebrows, not all that surprised. It was evident the man loved her just by looking at his eyes whenever Minerva was the topic, how she missed that Jana didn't know, "Minerva, hun, I love you, but you're being stupid."

"Jana!"

"You don't need to _think_ about this, you just need to act," Jana ignored the offended look om Minerva's face, "You can't be logical about this kind of stuff. Love is irrational and spontaneous, it comes when it comes, not when you've finished thinking. If you feel something for John, even the smallest of the clicks, act on it."

The brief moment of what Jana might consider a "click" flashed through Minerva's mind, when John has caught her from slipping earlier, Minerva had definitely felt some type of click. But could that really be enough to tell if she wanted something with John?

"I...I don't know what to do," Minerva admitted and put a hand on her head.

"Go to dinner," Jana suggested, "He's kind, he loves you, and it's your birthday. Don't spend it alone thinking when you could be with someone truly important to you. Happy birthday," she gave Minerva a hug and went on her way.

Minerva quietly sighed as she once again leaned on the car again, a foot up against it as well. Once again Jana had said some words Minerva had to really think about. Could she be right? Should she stop thinking so much? She was going to admit there had been a small tingle or 'click' (or whatever it was) with John...could there be more if she allowed herself some time with him?

John had walked out of the building and was heading for Minerva, noticing how troubled she looked. It was no surprise, she'd been through so much in one night, and on her birthday. But a part of him couldn't help feel excited, because perhaps...on a slim chance...he could have the opportunity to openly try and get her affection. And right now would mark the beginning of that quest.

" _Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Minerva, happy birthday to you_ ," he had sang to her (quietly) while holding a cupcake in his hands with a lit candle in the middle.

Minerva, with teary eyes, stood off the car and smiled, "John..."

John held the cupcake to her, "You deserve a beautiful cake with your name, but for now, will you accept this?"

Minerva let out a laugh as her tears strolled down her cheeks, "Of course," she took the cupcake from him.

"Make a wish," John instructed anxiously. He was well aware she was crying and sincerely hoped it was because she was happy for the moment.

Minerva looked at him as she thought of her wish, and when it finally came to her, she blew out the candle.

 _I wish for myself to get lost in what ever could happen tonight._

She felt a hand under her chin move her head up, John smiling, "I hope your wish comes true, what ever it is, as long as it makes you happy."

Minerva softened at his words and once again Jana's words flashed through her mind...and suddenly, "Do you want to get...something to eat...or something?" she awkwardly came up with. She felt rather nervous asking him but in all honesty did want to spend more time with him and see if Jana was right.

John had been surprised with the random question and had a bit of a struggle to answer, "E-eat?"

Minerva nodded and stood off the car, "Look, I'm going to be honest, I want to get to know you. And I mean know you as in 'my secret admirer' and not my friend who've I known for five years at my job. Plus...it's my birthday..."

John started smiling, "Yes, it is your birthday. Did you have any specific place you wanted to go to?"

Minerva sheepishly admitted there was, "Do you like Chinese food?"

John's smile widened and held a hand for her, "Then, may I take you out for some birthday dinner?"

"I would honestly really like that," Minerva took his hand and allowed him to lead her around the car to the passenger side, all the meanwhile smiling at each other.

~ 0 ~

Minerva was the first to come into her apartment, dropping her keys on a side table by the door, "You know where everything is," she held the door for John who came in carrying take out Chinese food.

"Yup!" John agreed and headed straight for the kitchen without a hint of question.

As Minerva closed the door she thought of just how stupid she'd been in the past. Gavin had been around the apartment maybe twice or three times while John had been around since the start. He knew where everything was, for goodness sake! How could she ever think that Gavin was her admirer?

John met her halfway as she came to the kitchen, "Are you sure you really wanted to eat here instead?"

Minerva looked down at her costume as she removed her red cape, "Yeah, I wouldn't eat comfortably with all the stares people would give us; the Magician and Little Red Riding Hood having dinner at a fancy restaurant? No thank you," she tossed her cape over to the couch, "I prefer my comfy home. But I really wouldn't mind eating on my own-"

"N-n-n-n-no, I would never leave you on your own, especially on your birthday!" John exclaimed.

Minerva smiled dimly, "Well, if you'd like to make yourself more comfortable, you're more than welcome to. I'll get the food out."

As she moved around him, John stared after her, simply loving the night he'd been blessed with. He took off his jacket and went to neatly placed it over the couch.

"Ah!" he heard behind him. Alarmed, he turned around and rushed to see what had happened.

"Sorry," Minerva sighed as she looked down at the floor now covered with sauce, "I dropped some of the sauces cos it was a bit too hot...sorry," she rubbed two of her fingers.

John watched the movement and gently took her hand, "Did you burn yourself?"

"It was a little burn, nothing to worry," she waved it off and moved to clean up the mess.

"C'mon," he pulled her back a bit, "I'll get something to help the sting."

Minerva sighed as he started to leave and decided not to listen. She grabbed a cloth from the counter and headed for the mess again. Just as she did, John was coming out of the hallway with a bandage and a couple other things, "Minerva, stop it!" he called to her.

"I can manage a little-" but she didn't get to finish when she felt one of her heels slip on the sauce, "Ah!"

John let the things in his hands drop and quickly went for the saving. He grabbed her arms and yanked her away, turning her around in the process.

 _Click_

Minerva felt her heart skip a couple beats as she had John's face right in front of her. His arms were wrapped around her waist and were still sustaining her. Her hands rested on his chest, enabling her to feel his heartbeat, which in consideration was a bit rapid. Without noticing, John had tugged her a little closer. He'd never had her in his arms like that, so close enough to have her scent filling the air around him. He admitted there were times he imagined moments like these...and sometimes, there were small moments he sincerely wished to learn how it felt.

It seemed like his mind wouldn't be making a logical input because next thing they both knew, he'd closed the small gap between him and Minerva and kissed her. Minerva's eyes widened in the beginning, stunned by the action, but found herself slowly being subdued. Her eyes closed and her lips started moving along with John's. It was a bit weird in the beginning, but the feeling faded away as her lips moved slower alongside his, sweetly. They grew closer to each other, Minerva's hands moved to rest on John's arms while his own arms tugged her against him.

 _Click, click, click_ , felt Minerva insanely as John turned her for the counter, pulling her up to sit her over it. She'd never done anything wild like that, as well as John, but neither seemed to recognize their bold actions as they were simply too caught up with their moment. It was only until she felt John's hand over her thigh that she pulled away and took a breath.

"Oh my..." she looked around in utter shock of herself, what had just happened?

John's mind was catching up with him as well, and unlike Minerva he was more horrified with his actions, "M-Minerva I'm...I'm _so_ sorry-"

But Minerva didn't let him finish, "N-n-n-no, sh," she put her hands on either side of his face, "Shh..." she started smiling, "...that was, um...different," she thought of it after a moment, her face blushing and her smile widening, "Different, yeah..."

"Different?" John didn't know how to take that response, it could mean anything!

"Like you say, 'blimey'," Minerva laughed softly and felt herself flush of embarrassment, "Do you do that often?"

"NO," John made sure to clarify for her. The last thing he needed was for her to think he was some kind of womanizer who snogged the first woman he saw, "It's only ever been you."

Minerva's laughter was replaced by a soft smile, her thoughts were already flashing back to the kiss (or snog). She'd never felt like that, so lively and...passionate. She loved it, absolutely loved it...and what about that 'click'? But that...that didn't exist...right?

"Minerva?" John whispered, a brief moment of fear settling on him.

She blinked and snapped back to reality, "Uh...food time?" she questioned shyly, embarrassed she'd gotten semi-lost just thinking of five minutes ago.

"Of course," John nodded and helped her off the counter, "You know, I passed by your room and I...I'm sorry, I couldn't help but notice you had all the gifts I've given you on your table."

He couldn't help comment on that, honestly. He'd only been passing by since the bathroom was only a couple doors away from her bedroom, but her door had been opened and the reflection of one of the glass gifts had reflected off and drawn his attention. She had neatly placed every last gift over her large table. It warmed his heart she'd kept his gifts with such tenderness. He'd spent some time gathering up some of those and spent equal time finding poems just for her. It gave him hope that perhaps he could continue giving her gifts, but not as an admirer...he preferred the title 'boyfriend'. And you know what, after what had happened he was even more determined to make her his girlfriend. It was clear that while she didn't love him back, there was still attraction and he could definitely work from there.

Minerva cleared her throat once she'd taken several things out of the bags, "Do you want to move to the living room?" she looked back at him with a sheepish smile.

"Formalities are not your thing," John recalled their many visits to each other's homes.

Minerva didn't like eating nor working in offices for very long times. That was why, at work, she would often move around a lot, going to one place and another. The same thing applied to eating at kitchen tables among friends. She preferred being comfortable and close than formal and proper.

"Do you mind?" Minerva still had to ask, just to be polite.

"C'mon," John reached over and picked some of the things up.

Minerva watched him head for the living room and slowly picked up the remaining things to follow. She'd left the mess in the kitchen all forgotten since her mind was pretty occupied with something- _someone_ \- else.

~ 0 ~

The two co-workers were sat on the couch, eating Chinese food and laughing as they recounted several moments they shared together. For a while, it seemed like both has forgotten their troubles and confessions. It was two friends having dinner to celebrate one's birthday. Of course, how long could that really last?

"You were such an idiot back there, thinking you could do an impromptu speech," Minerva was trying not to laugh while she had food in her mouth.

"It was your fault, _you_ didn't write the plan!" John countered, though he was laughing without a care, the noddles wrapped around his fork threatening to fall at any moment.

"I said I was sorry!" Minerva reminded and decided to put her food down so she could laugh with freedom, "I didn't know what happened, it just got lost. I apologized for it millions of times and you said it was alright!"

"Yeah, I mean, I just created a stupid, irrelevant speech on the spot that I'm pretty sure was the worst speech of all speeches in the world!"

Minerva's laughter lightened up as she looked at him, "...I really am sorry, though. Those were my early days at the job and I wasn't as responsible as I should've been."

"Hey, it was alright," John saw her apology being serious this time. He scooted closer to her, accidentally dropping some of his foot on his white shirt, "Dammit."

Minerva giggled, "You are such a child."

"ME?" he looked at her incredulously.

"Yes, you," Minerva took his plate and fork and set it on the table in front of the couch, "You're over 30 and you act like a five year old," she picked up a couple napkins and bunched them together.

"What? I do _not_!" John exclaimed, a pout on his face.

"I'm sorry, weren't you the one that decided to _finger-paint_ for one of your birthdays?" Minerva began to dab at the large spot of food on his shirt.

"...what's your point?"

Minerva couldn't help laugh again, "You're always bouncing around the place, rambling on at light speed. Honestly, I don't know how you don't run out of air at times."

"I only do that with you," John quietly admitted, making her stop and look up, both realizing how close they were to each other once again.

"That's...that's not true," Minerva whispered, suddenly racking her mind for any moments that could prove her statement, "You're like that all the time."

"Minerva, I don't even like to paint," John pointed out, "I only did the finger painting because you told me how you loved to finger paint as a child with your grandparents. And, I ramble a lot because I love talking to you and when I do ramble you either laugh or get this adorable smile because you're so amused and I...I like it."

"O-oh," was all Minerva could come up with, "That's why you do all that stuff? Why you _do_ all that stuff?"

"You never noticed?" John felt a bit disappointed none of his tricks had been noticed by Minerva.

"Well..." Minerva got to thinking, "...wait a minute, the apple field we visited...was that...was that because-"

"You said that the way you remembered your grandfather was by picking apples off your grandparents' apple tree and watching the stars in their backyard while eating the apples," John nodded.

"Wow...I am...stupid," Minerva concluded, feeling guilty as well. How could she never see all the sweet gestures John had come up with just for her? _Because_ of her?

"No, you're not," John shook his head.

"Of course I am, how could I never realize any of that stuff?" Minerva let the napkins in her hand drop, "I thought you were being nice, just a friend...and..." she sighed and looked down, "...oh, John, I'm so sorry," she wondered just how frustrated he must have been due to her ignorance.

But John was far from frustrated, just like the other times before this. He put a finger underneath her chin and gently pulled her gaze back up, "For me, the important part was that you were happy. You've told me all about your family, how you don't speak to them since you were 14 because you never got along, and all I've wanted to do from then on is make you happy. I think it's safe to say I reached my goal."

A smile escaped Minerva's lips, "Yes, you did," she whispered.

For a moment, there was silence as the two stared at each other. Minerva felt more comfortable with John, further than their friendship boundaries. She remembered that "click" from earlier and wondered if she was being stupid about it. But beyond that, there was the simple fact that she wanted to be close to John. She liked tonight, even if it hadn't started so well, she liked where she was now. Things were different, yes, beyond different, but perhaps...it could be a good different.

So, before she could start making a pro and cons list about it, she leaned up and kissed John on the lips. Though surprised, John responded fairly fast and kissed back.

 _Click. Click. Click. Click. Click_

This time, Minerva didn't question the click as she got more into the kiss. John's hands traveled down to her hips and pulled her closer, Minerva gladly accepting the movement. She pulled her knees onto the couch and sat over them, making both she and John perfect height, if not slightly taller herself. But that didn't matter as her hands entangled in his hair.

 _Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click._

Minerva pulled away, completely out of breath she decided to share something, "Okay, can I tell you something? It's weird but I feel like it might actually be a important."

"Well, what is it?" John asked, slightly concerned with the urgency in her tone.

"It's something Jana said to me yesterday," Minerva took a breath, hoping she wouldn't sound like an idiot and possibly ruin something she was actually really liking so far, "See, apparently, when Jana's parents met her mother wasn't sure if her dad was 'the one' until one day they had this moment where she felt a 'click' between them and she knew he was the one. _So_ ," Minerva paused for a needed breath, "When I thought Gavin was my admirer Jana kept asking me if I felt the 'click' but I told her it was nonsense cos, I mean, who the hell feels a 'click' right? But then tonight, when I slipped back at the party and you caught me I think I may have felt it but I wasn't sure and then earlier when we kissed again I felt it go 'click, click, click, click, click! And now that I'm kissing you I feel it again and I don't know if it's ridiculous but it actually feels pretty real and now I can't stop thinking about it cos it feels good and-"

John had placed a finger over her lips to stop her talking. He was genuinely worried she would run out of oxygen with all that rapid rambling she had going on, "First of all, _breathe_ ," he instructed.

Minerva took a visible loud deep breath, "I sounded ridiculous, didn't I?" she asked with fear.

"No...just.. adorable," John corrected with a small chuckle.

Minerva sighed and looked to the side, "I'm sorry, it's just I really think this 'click' thing is real now and maybe means that we _are_ meant to be..."

"Minerva," John began as he gently settled her in front of him, "Everyone has little things they believe will tell them if someone is 'the one', and that's completely fine. Yours happens to be a 'click test' and, thankfully, it seems like I'm passing it," he smiled making Minerva relax a bit, "For me, however, I tend to look at what I want for you, you know? I want you to be happy, regardless of who you end up with, because if you're happy then I'm happy. Now I won't lie and say that I wouldn't be just a tad happier if that someone you ended up with was _me_ ," they both lightly chuckled, "Because I just know that I could make you happy; I _want_ to make you happy," he gently tucked a strand of her long hair behind her shoulder, "I know the difficulties you had with your family in the past and I know that you miss them all so much. I'd like to be the one you can always talk to about them, be the one to comfort you. If you give me a chance I think we could be really happy together. Besides," he grabbed his black jacket that hung on the armrest of the couch behind him. He pulled out a small black box and opened it up for her to see a a silver chained necklace with a drooping, geminized snowflake at the bottom, "I always remember birthdays, anniversaries and holidays," he decided to humor her for the moment.

"That's beautiful," Minerva breathed as she touched the snowflake pendant.

"Happy birthday, Minerva. I was planning on giving it to you tonight, at a right moment, but I think now is as good of a time as ever," John smiled nervously, "I remembered you said your grandmother had one like this and since you loved her so much I thought you might like to feel close to her."

Minerva's eyes teared up and lowered the box, "Click, click, click," she whispered as she wrapped her arms around him and gave him a heated kiss.

John took that as his much anticipated answer and so kissed her back. The click test, the selflessness, what ever they chose to base their relation in didn't seem to matter anymore as they fell lost into their kiss, marking the beginning of a new relationship.

* * *

 _Author's Note:_

So! Hope you guys liked this chapter! I think it was a more lively one than the last chapter, right? And Happy birthday to the Clever Girl lol :)

 _For Reviews:_

Thank you as usual for your kind words! I love knowing someone likes my chapters lol.

That was a Minerva who didn't meet the Doctor, yikes! I think that in that kind of world, never meeting the Doctor didn't give her the courage to tear away from her family in a way that would help her. That's not a happy life and thank God she actually did meet the Martian, am I right? ;)

She deserves to be happy and is happy, thankfully lol. I actually loved doing that one-shot because it was a whole exploration of the 'what if she never met the Doctor'. Nooo, don't be sad! She's happy, happy, happy in the actual story world ;)

Well thank Lord lol don't hate me .

Welp, that's all for tonight! Happy Halloween and let's get ready for Thanksgiving (lots of food to eat yum, yum!)


	7. A Promise

_Author's Note:_

 _This is a one-shot/continuation from the chapter of Midnight and goes before 'Turn Left'. Consider it like a prequel of Stolen Earth/Journey's End :)_

* * *

Minerva was finishing up a twist around her hair, in front of her vanity desk, when the Doctor came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, "Gotcha!" he exclaimed.

"You made me lose my place!" Minerva had let her twist fall don and her hair fell over her face.

"So you're not happy to see me?" the Doctor pretended to pout though continued to sway her side to side.

"Stupid question," Minerva first of all said, "And I was just doing my hair," she gestured to the fallen hair over the side of her face. She blew on it to get it off, "It's a bit complicated."

"Well I'm sorry," the Doctor rested his chin on her shoulder, "I just wanted to greet my girlfriend in a nice way."

"You saw me fifteen minutes ago," Minerva pointed out as she started redoing her hair, "You went in for a shower."

"Oh, so _I'm_ the only one who feels like not letting go?" the Doctor put on another pout, "I thought after last night-"

"Shut up!" Minerva seemed to stiffen and her eyes widened, the last adornment being the bright pink blush on her face, "Just shut up," she spun around and met the smug expression on the Doctor's face, "Shush," she put a finger on his lips.

"We're not allowed to discuss it?"

"Well, not like that but…it's…delicate," Minerva said quietly, her fingers moving to play with the Doctor's jacket's buttons.

The Doctor had to chuckle as he wrapped his arms tighter around her and brought her closer to him, "Oh I'm sorry Clever Girl, I'm just incredibly happy, you know?" he kissed her forehead and rested the side of his face over her head.

Minerva felt her face warm up the more she reveled in their closeness, "I'm happy too," she whispered, brief moments of their first night together flashing through her mind.

The same thing was happening to the Doctor and a small sigh escaped through his lips, "I love you, Clever Girl."

"I love you, Martian," Minerva responded and looked up. She noticed his tie was missing and so she left his arms to go in search for it.

"What do you want to do today?" the Doctor asked as he waited for her to come back.

Minerva started smiling at the question, "Actually, I have an idea. I thought it would fit well," she returned to the Doctor holding a brown tie with blue patterned circles on it, "You like?"

The Doctor was staring at her instead of the tie when he answered, "I definitely like," he lifted her chin up to kiss her.

"I meant about this," Minerva whispered after pulling away, even holding up the tie for him, "Do you like it?"

"Of course," the Doctor nodded and moved to take it from her but she pulled it away.

"Let me," she offered herself and with approval put the tie round his neck.

"So where did you want to go?" the Doctor recalled her words and wondered now curiously where she wanted to go to.

"Uh, well, I thought we could go to the Monsoon," Minerva said with a face as she was sure there was some issues to come from that.

"The Monsoon?" the Doctor raised an eyebrow, "I thought you didn't want to go there until you were finished with the process."

"Yeah, but I don't exactly mean to go to the palace my grandfather is rebuilding with the others."

"Then where to?"

Minerva finished the tie and used it to pull him down to her level, "I'd like to visit our old lake," she whispered, her lips brushing with his every time she spoke.

"The lake?" the Doctor raised his eyebrows, surprised yet not completely against it.

Minerva nodded, "I remembered some of our moments there and I want to visit there today, and, if possible, just the two of us. I think we could let Donna go somewhere luxurious, no?"

"Just not Midnight," the Doctor agreed and pecked her lips, "It's settled then, to the Monsoon we go!"

"Thank you," Minerva smiled and stepped back, "Now I've gotta find my necklace. I sort of, um…" she rubbed the side of her neck, "…tossed it last night and I don't know where it is," she rolled her eyes when the Doctor began making one of his smug faces, "Just shut up and help me find it," she moved around the room in search for her Monsoon necklace.

A couple minutes later, the Doctor was cheering when he found it near under the bed, "Come here, Clever Girl," he motioned for her to come closer. Minerva walked over and allowed him to move her hair to one side so he could wrap the necklace around her neck, "Beautiful," he whispered in the end and gave her a kiss.

Minerva blushed and took his hands, "C'mon, let's go tell Donna the plans for today," the Doctor let her pull them towards the doors to get their day started.

~ 0 ~

The TARDIS materialized at the center of the iced lake on the Monsoon. The doors opened up and Minerva stepped a foot on the ice. She took another step out and looked around, taking a big breath. The Doctor came out behind her silently, allowing her to feel what ever it was she needed to feel. While she remembered parts of the Monsoon, more so now than before, there were still huge gaps in her mind when it came to her first, original life on the snowy planet. The lake was one of the gaps. She remembered small moments she and the Doctor shared in it but not a lot. Minerva took several steps around the lake while she tried to desperately remember everything…only to realize she couldn't.

When the Doctor heard her small sniffles he shut the TARDIS doors and quickly rushed over to her, "Hey, hey, what's wrong!?" he'd turned her around and came to the disappointment of finding her face covered in tears.

Minerva couldn't help it, "I thought if I came here then I would remember so much more but I can't…" she stomped her foot like a child would, "…and I _want_ to remember!"

The Doctor took hold of her head with his hands and tried to calm her, "It's fine, it's fine, it's completely fine," he whispered to her and rubbed the tears off her face.

"No, it's not," Minerva sniffled, "You have all these memories of us on this lake and you can _feel_ them. You remember our dates, our kisses, our conversations, everything."

"Well, dear, I hate to break it to you, but your body is trying to pick and choose traits from two people. Your brain is compressed and it's all a big blurr," the Doctor explained and smiled softly, "You're in a bit of a pickle, as they say. But it's alright, soon it'll come to you, don't worry."

"But what if it doesn't?" Minerva raised an eyebrow, "I've been talking to Zohar and she said some things…things you should know about."

"Forget what Zohar had told you, just focus on what you have _now_ ," the Doctor instructed, "You've got your background back, you're traveling, you're-"

"I have _you_ ," Minerva whispered, suddenly not so upset once she realized that, "I have my ginger sister, my best friend…"

The Doctor smiled in relief, "Exactly, now please, stop crying," he rubbed off the remaining tears from her cheeks, "You're gorgeous eyes don't deserve so many tears."

"And you probably deserve a girlfriend who doesn't spend 20 hours of ever day sobbing," Minerva sniffled and tried to recollect herself, and she ended up even laughing a little, "Are you sure you still want to marry me?"

But the Doctor didn't find any joke in it. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer, "With all my hearts," he answered honestly, "Today, if possible."

Minerva blushed and looked away, "It was a joke."

"I didn't see it!"

"Oh Martian," Minerva draped her arms around his neck, "What did I ever do to deserve you?"

"I ask myself for you the same thing," the Doctor leaned to rest his forehead over hers.

Minerva's eyes drifted to the side where her hidden cave remained, her mind flashing back to the first time she returned to the planet as a human, "Come," she took the Doctor's hand and led him towards it.

"Where are we going?" the Doctor asked confusedly.

"Don't you remember what happened the last time we came here?" Minerva turned around and faced him, "When I was a human…and we fell over the cliff," she leaned closer with a smirk, "And we ended up mighty close."

"I-I remember," the Doctor blinked and sported a blush on his face.

"And then I managed, unknowingly, to open the cave entrance," Minerva finished reminding, "I can open it even easier now. Do you want to go in?"

"Of course," the Doctor nodded.

"Then let's," Minerva gripped his hand and turned for the cave, focusing on the entrance. Zohar had explained to her the way to get the entrance opened. It was all telepathically done and now that she had more of Moontsay genes it would be far easier to open it voluntarily.

~ 0 ~

Minerva led the Doctor into a room of ice filled with endless shelves that were packed with all kinds of objects, both big and small. While Minerva looked around in awe, the Doctor seemed in a more bittersweet state. He left Minerva to walk and ended up coming to a bookshelf and picked up a small, porcelain doll with shiny blue eyes and long, curly, brown hair. She was dressed in cotton-like blue dress with pink shoes. The Doctor smiled and glanced back at Minerva, and came to the surprise of finding her holding a glass snow-globe.

She met his gaze and smiled, "I remember this one," she waved it, "I can't really remember the actual day you gave it to me but I remember when I saw it in the TARDIS."

"You said you loved it," the Doctor came over to her still holding onto the doll, "And you wanted to make a snowman on Earth."

Minerva chuckled in agreement, "That makes sense. What's that?" she pointed to the doll in his hand.

"Uh, a present, clearly," the Doctor shook his head at how stupid that had sounded from him, "I gave it to you in the early days. The academy was bringing in some souvenirs from a trip and I went in and got this for you."

Minerva set down the globe behind her and took the doll from him, desparately wishing she could remember, "Didn't they give you weird looks for picking up a doll?"

"Oh yes," the Doctor nodded, "Weird comments too but in my head I was wondering how my princess girlfriend would love it."

"We were boyfriend and girlfriend back then too?" Minerva asked in surprise. In all the time the process had started, and even as a human, she had never actually questioned the Doctor about their old relationship. What were they in the times before the Doctor had gotten engaged? They went on dates and kissed, that was as much as she knew. But was there ever an actual place?

The Doctor smiled at her question and nodded, stepping closer and resting a hand on her cheek, "Of course. It was in secret but, it was still as honest and pure as we are now."

"I would love to remember all of that," Minerva sighed and a sad tinge settled on her face. She looked at the doll in her hand and fixed a part of its hair, "Because this doll is just beautiful. You seemed as thoughtful back then as you are now."

"I was just trying to give you a bit of Earth," the Doctor sheepishly looked around.

"No, look at all this," Minerva gestured to the room and tugged him closer by the hands, "This entire room is _covered_ in _gifts_ that you gave me. This is like some fairy tale," she chuckled as she remembered their small disagreement the last time they were in her cave.

It seemed like the Doctor had also remembered because he was also laughing, "I stand by statements," he concluded, "You're an absolutely fairy tale," he set his hands on her hips, "Clever," he pecked her lips, "Beautiful," he kissed her again, "My type of traveler," Minerva chuckled as she received a third kiss, "Sweet, and let's not forget my favorite, completely and utterly sassy," and he gave her a deep kiss that left her breathless.

"Well then," she blinked, even dropping the doll she'd held onto, "You like my sassiness?"

"Love it!" he pulled Minerva right up to his lips for another kiss, however one with more passion. He backed Minerva up to a shelf, on its side so they wouldn't knock anything down. Minerva broke the kiss for a moment to breath, as her lungs were still quite human. The Doctor brushed some hair from her face and rested his forehead over hers, "You know, I promise, when we get married, I'll shower you with gifts just like I used to."

Minerva just smiled and placed a hand on his cheek, "I'm just content with having you with me. But you know what, if we get married-"

" _When_ we get married," the Doctor corrected her. He knew Minerva still had her doubts of the future and he was more than ready to correct her on any of them.

"If we get married, I promise to be a good wife," Minerva said quietly, "I don't know what it's like being married nor what a wife does but I promise to try my best."

The Doctor just smiled and leaned in closer, "I think you're already the perfect one, always have thought of it you know."

Minerva blushed and leaned closer to him as well, leaving a small gap between their lips, "Then I promise to live up to it," she smiled and resumed their kiss.

~ 0 ~

After looking through the cave for hours, Minerva and the Doctor finally emerged from the entrance back to the iced lake. They looked around cautiously for anyone that may have discovered their secret visit. Minerva didn't want anyone knowing about it especially since they weren't okay with the Doctor being around just yet. Her own grandfather was against it! But more importantly, she just wanted to spend time with him alone. There was so many things that had happened and were happening and _could_ happen that she wanted to soak up every moment she had with him.

"Looks like no one came around," the Doctor observed as he tried the TARDIS doors and found it had no signs of struggles, "Good for us," he looked back at Minerva and found her quietly looking around, "Something the matter?" he called to her. She glanced at him with that sad smile of hers that was persistently found its way to her lips. He sighed and turned to her, "What is it? Is it the pictures?"

They'd found several albums of photographs from their past and while Minerva couldn't remember most of them, they had still caused some emotions from her. He wondered if these were just lingering feelings.

"Come," Minerva held a hand out for him.

"Why?" the Doctor asked.

"Just come," Minerva insisted and wiggled her fingers much like he would to her. The Doctor noticed some type of change in her face, one far more different than anything else. He walked over slowly and took her hand, allowing her to take his other one as well, "I love you," Minerva smiled but the Doctor could tell it wasn't a real one.

"I love you too," he responded. Minerva opened her mouth but ended up closing it with teary eyes, "No, no, what is it?" the Doctor panicked at that.

"I need to tell you something," Minerva choked out and took a moment to calm herself. She couldn't sob before she told him everything she needed to say.

"What is it?" the Doctor asked, highly concerned.

"I want to thank you…for everything," Minerva finally began and for a moment left the Doctor confused, "I may not remember everything but I remember the first time we met officially. I knew that you were going to be the one I loved for the rest of my life – _lives_ – and I was right. I love you immensely and you will ALWAYS be the love of my life."

The Doctor didn't want to admit it to himself but he knew that sounded like a _goodbye_ , "Why are you saying that?" he whispered.

"I spoke to Zohar, thoroughly," Minerva gave him a pointed look, "And she told me what could happen when the process is finished… _if_ I can reach that point."

"Minerva, what ever she said, what ever you think it's-"

"No, please, just listen," Minerva gripped his hands in hers, "I just need you to listen, okay?" with no choice, the Doctor nodded, "If I can finish this process safely and completely, then I'll return to my old self. And I hope, with everything I have, that I _can_ finish it like that…but…" she looked down for a moment and closed her eyes, "There's also a good chance that I won't make it-"

"NO, don't you say that," the Doctor had to intervene, and quite irritated Zohar had said something like that to her.

"I have to," Minerva sighed, "I like being realistic, you know that. It hasn't changed. This process is wonky, it's never been done before, there's no telling what can happen. I can finish it with no trouble…or I can finish-"

"Don't say it," the Doctor warned, his own tears building up.

"Dead," Minerva whispered, "There's a chance that I won't be able to withstand it all-"

"Minerva," the Doctor swallowed hard and took her head in his hands, "That's not gonna happen. You're going to finish it and you're going to live and we're going to get married and, hey, you know what? I bet you're going to be crowned Queen of the Monsoon."

"I'd like that very much," Minerva nodded and sighed, "But if it doesn't happen, then I want you to know that I love you with all my heart. And, I want to thank you for everything. From the moment we met up to this point, I don't regret anything. The only thing I wish differently is that I hadn't been such of a coward to tell my family how much I loved you."

"Don't say that, please," the Doctor nearly begged. Those were dark words that spelled death and that wasn't going to happen to his Clever Girl.

"I have to," Minerva whispered, "Because who knows how it could happen. It could be fast and I wouldn't have the chance to tell you all of it."

"But it's not going to happen," the Doctor insisted, "You're going to be okay."

"And what if I'm not?" Minerva raised an eyebrow, "Look, Martian, this is just me saying goodbye in case somethings goes wrong. And, in the future, if I'm not here anymore, then I'd like for you to continue on and be that amazing Martian you are. Continue traveling like we always planned on when we were young. Find some people that'll make you happy, heck, find a woman-"

At that the Doctor had to intervene, "NO," he spat, "Absolutely _not!_ "

"It would be okay," Minerva tried to assure but just the thought of her Martian kissing another woman made her stomach churn and fresh new tears appear in her eyes.

"No, it really wouldn't," the Doctor shook his head, his voice trembling just as the thought of it, "I've only loved you and you know it. I couldn't even be in the same room with my 'wife' in the past. You really think, that after everything we've been through, I could ever grow to love someone like I do with you?"

Minerva felt her heart break as she continued on with her thoughts and words, but she needed to know that the Doctor would be okay if things didn't turn out good, "Well, maybe not with the same intensity but-"

"No!" the Doctor exclaimed, "This is ridiculous! None of it's happening, okay? I promise you that."

"I just want you to be alright," Minerva sniffled and moved to rest her hands on his shoulders, "I don't want you sulking over me. Promise me you won't do that, okay?"

"Minerva, oh you Clever Girl, none of this is happening, alright?"

"But what if-"

"I'm gonna make you a promise right here and now," the Doctor declared and stepped closer to her, "You're going to be fine and IF something happens to go wrong then I will make sure it goes _right_. I don't care if I have to use all my regeneration energy on you but it _**will**_ go right," he fiercely promised her, nearly swore, "Because we have far too many plans to let them all go…" he softened as he leaned closer to her face, "…because I simply love you too much to let you go," and with that, he proceeded to kiss her and prove to her he wasn't going to let her go that easily.

That was a promise.


	8. Passion and Power

_Author's Note: So, this is the first AU one-shot with the 11th Doctor & Minerva as a ginger (currently her second incarnation but after the link change)._

 _This is a little something for Valentine's Day! Enjoy!_

* * *

A mansion on a lovely, secluded ranch terrain was the site Sarahi Souza chose for her grand party. The party was in honor of her birthday - among her reunion with her distant cousin. Sarahi was sure that tonight would be the night all problems between her and her cousin would finally come to an end. That was why she was overseeing everything herself in order for it all to be perfect. She needed everything to flow smoothly because while she intended the party to be private she knew it would eventually make it out to the media.

The Souza family was a popular family among the high class society of England. The family oversaw the production of fine jewels which gave them an awful lot of revenue. Their lifestyle was among the high class normalities and unfortunately that also meant they never had a moment of peace with the media. However, the family had been reduced to a merely two members: Sarahi and her cousin.

After a tragic accident where it saw the death of Sarahi's parents as well as her cousin's, the two young women of close ages were left on their own. Normally that would mean for closeness between the two cousins but unfortunately that hadn't been the case. The testament left behind by the parents explicitly stated everything in the name of the Souza's was to be for Sarahi. And while Sarahi knew why that was, she never openly admitted it. Her cousin had been outraged by the testament and vowed never to speak to her cousin again - especially after going into a legal process to appeal to the will and lost. Sarahi felt incredibly bad and decided to give her cousin a monthly payment from the revenues of their family. While she thought she was doing good, her cousin internally despised the pity she was being brandished with.

Now at 30 years, Sarahi thought it was time for change. All of last year had been dedicated to winning back her cousin. She visited her cousin in America nearly every month to get acquainted. Sarahi dared to say there had been a massive progression of their relationship. Her cousin was coming to her birthday party from New York, that surely meant progress was made right? Sarahi just knew that when her cousin learned of the big change she had secretly implemented in her will her cousin would finally be at peace.

About midday, Sarahi was overseeing the preparing of her birthday dinner when one of her maids announced there was someone waiting for her in the dining room.

"Alright ladies," Sarahi stopped at the doorway of the kitchen, "You know this meal has to be excellent. Do your best."

"Yes, ma'am," went the crowd of employees.

With a pleased grin, Sarahi headed for the dining room. She was delighted to see her best friend lurking about in the room when she entered, "John!" she beamed and hurried to meet the man in an ecstatic hug, "You're early!" she pulled away from him and gave him a sharp look, "You do intend on taking off the stupid badge right?" she lifted up the pocket badge that hung on a chain around John's neck.

John laughed sheepishly and took her hand off his badge, "Why? It makes me look cool."

Sarahi rolled her eyes, not surprised her friend intending on using his position as police officer to his advantage. She was used to his cockiness after five years of friendship.

"You are not picking up any women at my party," Sarahi warned him firmly.

But John took the warning as something else, "What? The clothes aren't good enough?" he teased.

Sarahi groaned but nonetheless took a good study of his clothes. He had an odd way of dressing sometimes and she couldn't have that at her party tonight. John wore a light, gray blazer over a white, buttoned up shirt paired with gray slacks and shoes. His brown tousled hair seemed to be tamed which was quite the difference unlike every other day. And, Sarahi admitted silently, the silver and black badge around his neck did make him look a little cool.

"You look handsome," she decided to tell him, "but I'm serious, you can't mess around. Everything has to go smoothly tonight."

John rolled his eyes and walked a little off, "Yeah, yeah, I know, 'because your cousin is visiting'. Honestly there isn't a moment where you don't say that."

"Well I need it all to be good," Sarahi shrugged.

"So will I finally get to meet this cousin of yours?" John turned around, a face of disinterest etched onto all of his features.

"Yes, and I'm sure you'll love her," Sarahi nearly promised him.

"Okay," John gave a light shrug. He didn't really have much of a care towards the cousin, especially after Sarahi had taken care of talking about her every moment he was around. He'd seen her in a couple of pictures and while she wasn't bad looking, she wasn't his priority either.

"So did you take care of it all?" Sarahi went on to ask, knowing when she was irritating her best friend with all the babbling of her cousin, "Media and stuff?"

John nodded, "Yup. There is no phone access nor WiFi connection anywhere near here. But are you sure you really want that?"

Earlier in the week Sarahi had asked John if he could see to it that all media connection be cut off from the mansion for her birthday party. While it was no easy job to do John had come through for her as always.

"Absolutely," Sarah declared with her own nod, "I don't want any media coming to my party and ruining it. If people can't post pictures nor call, then we can't have that problem."

John gave her a look before shaking his head, "All for a measly birthday."

"Hey," Sarahi pointed, "when your thirty you'll understand."

"Well give me two more years and I'll let you know."

Sarahi rolled her eyes and motioned to be followed, "C'mon, you can help me make sure everything is going perfectly," with no other option John trailed after the woman.

~ 0 ~

Night came and Sarahi's guests arrived without tardiness. She couldn't help feel like a child continuously glancing at the table designated for presents that kept getting bigger and bigger. Eventually John had her go take a break and greet some guests all the way at the other end of the room. He supposed if she was distracted enough she wouldn't keep counting how many presents there were. She was such a child.

Being the adult he was, he kept meeting and greeting Sarahi's guests for her. They were all pretty well known to him since he practically oversaw their private protection in other events. This time however he was off the clock and just another guest like them. Except he had a guest room all to himself in the house unlike the rest.

"Mr. and Mrs. Henderson, how are you?" he greeted one of Sarahi's closest friends.

The middle-aged couple gave their cordial greeting as well and soon they were having one of those normal, business talks they always had.

"And so, I tell you John, production is just going down," Mr. Henderson was saying, never noticing how John was blatantly ignoring him silently, "We don't know what else to do."

John gave polite nods here and there, followed by, "Yup, I hear you," and he took a small sip of his wine from his glass. He didn't even like wine but perhaps it would help make the conversation a little more tolerant.

Suddenly, through the midst of the ongoing conversation, a different voice began carrying over - a woman. And the accent was incredibly...American.

"No, no, you definitely should come to the Big Apple," she chuckled, "You will never be bored there, that I promise you," and she made the small group in front of her laugh.

John instantly recognized the woman to be Sarahi's cousin.

And she was breathtaking.

All the pictures John had seen no longer had importance. They did not give her justice. His disinterest vanished the moment his feet began making way for her. He didn't even remember the couple he'd rudely left behind!

Sarahi's cousin was still making the group around her laugh apparently, "No, I don't think I could leave New York behind. It's loud and I'm loud, perfect match!" she watched them all laugh with satisfaction and was slightly startled to find a newcomer interrupting her.

"Excuse me," John disbanded the group with a wave of his hand, something the woman of the hour didn't like. But then she took a good look at him and decided he was more than worth the exchange.

"Excuse you, who are you?" her refined, American voice made John's mind clutter up with fantasies of the ginger woman before him, "And why did you make my friends leave?"

"They were your friends?"

"Well, could've been. Who are you?" she smirked, "And why have we never met?"

"I'm John, um, Sarahi's friend," John pointed back and suddenly remembered it was Sarahi who had wanted to see her cousin all day. He quickly turned around and called, "Sarahi!"

At the call of her name Sarahi looked away from her conversation and found her special guest had arrived. She quickly began making her way over to them.

In the meantime her cousin had taking to staring at John, making a face that displayed her open satisfaction of him. She didn't know who he was nor what he was doing there but she intended on finding out.

"You're here! You're here! You're here!" Sarahi excitedly hugged her cousin, "Ah! Finally!"

Her cousin chuckled and pulled away, "I told you I'd be here."

Sarahi smiled and stepped back besides John. Minerva checked the two for any romantic gestures between them and became even more satisfied to see nothing. Sarahi mistook the stares as a sign for introductions.

"Oh, um, this is my best friend, John," she gestured.

Minerva held out a hand for John which he instantly took with his free hand to kiss, "Nice to meet you."

"John, this is my cousin, Minerva," Sarahi said then.

Minerva impishly smiled, "A police officer?" she raised an eyebrow at the badge John still wore.

It was then that John realized he'd forgotten to take it off and flushed with embarrassment. He had only been joking with Sarahi and had fully meant to remove it before the party got started. He quickly fumbled to take it off when Minerva placed a hand over it.

"I like it," she declared in a low tone.

"Th-thanks," John rapidly blinked, wondering if anyone else could hear his near-bursting heart within his chest.

Conscious of the effect she was having on him, Minerva removed her hand from him and glanced at her cousin, "It's very nice to be back in London."

"Yeah," agreed Sarahi, "How long has it been?"

"Since my parents died," Minerva sadly smiled, "I haven't had the heart to come back."

"Well I really thank you for coming," Sarahi stepped up and gave her a hug, "I hope you have fun."

Minerva's eyes were on John again and was receiving one back, "Oh, I intend to," she promised.

Sarahi pulled away with a wide grin, "Well I've already prepared a good room for you."

"But I didn't bring any of my stuff," Minerva seemed on the verge of panicking, making Sarahi laugh.

"Don't worry, I've had some of my things moved into yours," and little did Sarahi know that angered Minerva.

But Minerva was an expert at swallowing down her actual feelings, "Thank you," she gave Sarahi another hug to seal the deal.

~ 0 ~

Further down the evening, Sarahi tool care of introducing nearly everyone at the party to Minerva. When satisfied, Sarahi finally stopped them at a bar counter they could rest at for a while. As Sarahi got them drinks, Minerva took a good look around the room. She smiled upon seeing one of her friends, Paul, arriving.

"Sarahi, I hope you don't mind but I may have invited one of my friends to the party," she informed Sarahi, "He was in the city and I hadn't seen him for a long time."

Sarahi glanced to see the man coming for them, "No, that's fine."

"Paul," Minerva rose from her stool to hug her friend, "Nice of you to make it."

"I never miss a good party," Paul laughed and pulled away, seeing Sarahi a bit shy, "Happy birthday, Miss Souza."

"It's Sarahi," she pushed her blonde hair back and stood up to greet him, "and thank you. Please enjoy yourself."

Minerva smiled seeing them getting along. Once more, she took a look at the room and immediately noticed John having a drink with a man. Discreetly, she left Sarahi with Paul to go to John.

Fixing her hair, she approached the two men with one of her innocent smiles, "Am I interrupting?"

Startled by her presence, John blinked at her, his tone displaying the nervousness he was desperate to hide, "N-no, not at all," he then remembered his friend was beside him and had no idea who the ginger woman was, "Fred, this is Sarahi's cousin."

"Minerva," the ginger held a hand out to Fred.

"Fred," the dark-haired man shook hands with her.

John knew he was being ridiculous but he swore they were holding hands far longer than needed. Eventually, Minerva ended the shake and looked at the two men, "Are you two colleagues or something?"

"No, I'm a school teacher," Fred explained then laughed, "I know, not as dangerous as others," he nodded to John, "but I manage."

"Adrenaline is a powerful thing though," Minerva shrugged, "It can be a bit addictive. I sure would want a job like that," she chuckled lightly, "but my job isn't exactly it."

"What do you work in again?" John asked curiosity, berating himself for not listening to Sarahi all those times she rambled on about her cousin.

Minerva smiled, "I import the finest jewelry in America - along with other subdivisions of fashion."

"Interesting," John said, knowing that what Minerva did and what Sarahi did could be the finest industry in the world if the two decided to work together.

"I could explain it a little more if you'd like," Minerva discreetly moved closer to John, "if you're interested in hearing of course."

"Y-yeah," John seemed almost entranced with the woman in front of him.

Fred coughed to remind of his presence. When both turned to see him, Fred waved with a hand, "It was nice meeting you, Minerva. I'll go see if someone else can give me a drink," he waved his empty glass and walked off.

Minerva chuckled, "I like him."

John didn't seem to take that lightly, "Really? Him? He's a school teacher!"

Minerva turned to him, raising an eyebrow, "And what's wrong with that?"

John began stuttering now that he realized he was bringing more attention to himself and not the one he wanted, "Well, I…" he scratched his head, "...I think, you know…" Minerva stared at him trying to bite down her laughter while he racked his mind for a valid reason, "It's like you said, um…"

When Minerva had enough she let her laughter out and grabbed his hand that was on his head, "Okay, I've seen enough of your self torture," she lowered his hand then proceeded to pick at his hair, startling John.

"What are you doing?" he managed to ask.

"I like your hair," she declared and inched closer to him again, "It's very soft…"

"Y-yes it is," John was well aware of their closeness in which they were nearly pressed together.

Minerva smirked as she finally lowered her hand from his hair, "I would think your girlfriend has a fondness for it too."

"No girlfriend, none whatsoever," John clarified with his eyes glued to her amber-brown eyes.

That satisfied Minerva and so she grabbed his hand, "Then there'll be no one angry with me if we dance?"

"There's no boyfriend?"

Minerva chuckled, "None whatsoever," she mocked his tone.

John downed the remainder of his wine before taking Minerva to the dance floor. He needed an extra boost if he was going to interact with Minerva, he just hoped the wine would be enough. The dance floor was not as crowded and so allowed for easy movements and conversation. The song itself wasn't a fast nor loud one. Minerva loosely draped her arms around John's shoulders while he cautiously set his hands on her waist. He was well aware this was not Sarahi, his best friend who he knew exactly how to act.

While Sarahi was a tall brunette with a cheery attitude, Minerva was a small ginger with an incredible skill to make anyone nervous. Her amber-brown eyes were filled with curiosity and he wanted to know what they thought of. At least, he wanted to know what she was thinking right now.

The two danced closely and for a couple minutes in silence. Eventually, Minerva laughed out of embarrassment, "Well, this isn't awkward at all."

John released a small, shaky laugh of his own, "I'm sorry."

"No, what are you apologizing for? This is our first dance together, bound to be some silence. I just hope this won't happen for our next dance."

John tried not to seem as nervous as he really was, "Next dance?"

Minerva roguishly smiled, one of her hands lowering from his shoulder to his chest, right over his hanging badge, "What can I say? I like adrenaline and I like you. Tell me, do I have a chance here?"

John wanted to make sure he'd heard everything right but he supposed having Minerva's hand on him and her unconditional gaze there was probably no mistake.

"You...want a chance...with me?" he still had to ask.

Minerva nodded, finally removing her hand from him and moving it back over his shoulder, "Yeah, is there?"

Quickly, John nodded, "Yes, yes! Um," he cleared his throat in hopes of having two seconds to recollect himself.

Minerva looked around, "So, are any of your cop friends here?"

"Uh, no, no they're not," John shook his head, "I'm on my own."

Minerva wrapped her arms tighter, using it to bring each other closer, "Flying solo, then?"

"Well, this is Sarahi's party. She's ordered no cops around except me," John explained.

Minerva raised an eyebrow, "Is that the only thing she ordered? Because last time I remembered she was uptight and unnecessarily extreme."

John chuckled, "Well, she does have a habit of going over the top. To say, she had all service cut off for the party so the media wouldn't find us."

"That sounds a lot like her," Minerva made a face, "No cellphone service just to keep hidden?"

"Sarahi," John said as if it were the answer to it all.

Minerva thought so too judging by her small laugh. She then noticed Sarahi studying them from across the room, clearly confused.

"Speaking of," Minerva cleared her throat and stepped back, "I think she wants an explanation."

John followed her gaze to Sarahi and immediately became nerve wrecked again. It left Minerva no choice but to drag him towards Sarahi. Sarahi did no good job in hiding her confusion when the two approached, "So, um, care to explain?" she asked.

"We're just dancing, Sarahi," Minerva said with a cheeky smile, "Did that bother you?"

Sarahi playfully rolled her eyes, waving a hand at them, "I could care less. I was only curious. John, do you think you can do me a favor?"

"Anything," John nodded.

Sarahi removed her pink ruby ring from her finger and handed it to John, "I caught some eyes on it and I want to take precautions. You know the safe in my room."

Minerva rolled her eyes, "Wow, Sarahi. It's just a ring, isn't it?"

"It's a priceless ring, Minerva. You'd have it put away too."

"Well if they were shoes you can bet as hell I would," Minerva crossed her arms then looked at John, "So go and put that away and we'll continue talking afterwards."

"Yes ma'am," John nodded and went off.

"I've never had a cop call me 'maam' before," Minerva breathed, "You think he'll do it again if I ask?"

"Wow," Sarahi laughed, "Definitely did not see this one coming: my cousin and my best friend."

Minerva turned to her, "That doesn't bother you does it? It's nothing spoken for anyways. We literally just met."

"What you do is your business," Sarahi raised her hands in neutrality.

Minerva smiled and looked away, finding her friend Paul across, "Well, same can be said for you and Paul."

Sarahi immediately blushed, "Wh-what?"

"You like him," Minerva accused, "And I don't mind in the least. Paul is good."

"Minerva," Sarahi looked away, embarrassed.

The ginger only shrugged and walked off towards Paul, wearing a devious smile on her face.

~ 0 ~

John was just coming down the stairs when Minerva rushed out of the first floor hallway.

"John," she seemed surprised to find him.

"Minerva, hey," John came down the rest of the stairs and went to meet her in front of the hallway threshold, "What are you doing here?"

"Uh, trying to find the bathroom," Minerva sheepishly smiled, "This house is like a maze. Plus without the lights on it's way more difficult."

"If you want I can show you," John offered but Minerva shook her head.

"No, that's fine, I just wanted to see how I was looking," Minerva gestured to herself, "Haven't done that in hours."

"Oh, well, I can tell you that: you look beautiful."

Minerva softly smiled, "Thanks," and she chuckled, "I'm sorry, it's just weird having a cop compliment me like that."

"If you'd like, I could just take this off," John jiggled his badge chain, "and we can be regular people."

"Oh no," Minerva breathed as she stepped closer to him, her hand resting on his chest, "It reminds me of the adrenaline we have if we proposed ourselves."

"Right," John wasn't quite sure how to take those words but he knew he wanted to find out either way it was. Something inside him urged him to quit being so cautious around her. It was clear she had no intentions of being mere friends, why should he be careful? Right now he only wanted to test how her lips tasted, see if they were soft or sweet...or both?

"Something on your mind?" Minerva asked though she was pretty sure she knew the answer based on where John's eyes were.

"Actually," John began and slowly leaned down, "there's one thing…" he pressed his lips to hers forming a small kiss.

Though it was small it was enough to spark something within the two. Upon pulling away, the sensation of amazing discovery was felt equally among each other. It spurred them to do it again, and possibly again. It was a strong feeling neither had ever felt.

With a small giggle, Minerva pulled them further into the dark hallway in which they would be at peace and free of distraction. John pinned her against a wall just beside a window, his hands usually taking liberty of trailing Minerva's body. If he had been sane of mind he would be utterly stunned of his actions. The fact was his mind was only focused on kissing the woman in front of him. Minerva seemed to be experiencing the same thing as her arms wound themselves around John's neck, effectively tugging his hair to get a harder kiss. She was perfectly at ease having a man's hands all over her despite only knowing each other for a mere hour or so. The feeling was extraordinarily new and she didn't want to lose it.

However, some time during their moment, they heard simultaneous gasps and shrieks from the main room of party.

"What was that?" John asked as he tried catching his breath.

Minerva seemed equally confused as him, "I...don't know."

John took a couple steps towards the hallway threshold, "I think the lights went out…"

"What!?" Minerva quickly hurried after him, trying to peer around him as he was trying to keep her behind should anything happen.

Slowly, John reached for his gun holster on his side, "Minerva, stay behind me at all times, okay?"

Minerva blinked, "But...what?"

John turned around, cupping half of her face with a hand, "I need you to be stay behind. I don't know what the hell came over me back there," he nodded to their place by the window, "but I don't want to lose it - I don't want to lose you. Promise me you'll stay back."

Quickly, Minerva nodded, "Okay. Yes."

And so, the two slowly inched closer to the main room that was still dark. Everyone was in shock and trying to figure out how to bring the lights back. Some of them were using cellphones to light up their immediate surroundings.

"What's going on here?" shouted John over everyone else's.

"John!" they heard Sarahi and seconds later her shrill scream.

In the next moment, the lights returned but Sarahi was gone. John returned his gun to his holster and took control of the situation, "Everyone in two lines, NOW," he ordered.

"Where is my cousin?" Minerva stood beside him, nervously looking at all the lined guests.

"We'll find her," John assured, "Someone explain what happened here and now. There is no time to waste!" he told the guests.

Paul stepped out of the line to explain, "Every thing was fine and suddenly the lights went out. There was someone in a black cloak in here trying to get Sarahi."

"And he took her?" Minerva raised an eyebrow, "Who was it!?"

"We don't know," Paul sharply looked at her.

"We have to find her," John backed to the threshold, "I need EVERYONE everyone to stay in here. I see one of you outside and you're automatically suspects."

Minerva turned and hurried to him, "But John!"

"No, Minerva," John pointed at her, "You need to stay in here, alright?" but before Minerva could answer he was gone.

Minerva loudly huffed and turned away, not at all used to being ordered around. She looked at Paul with a deep frown. How could any of this be going on?

~ 0 ~

John cautiously walked down the second floor of the house, gun in hand and aimed ahead in case it needed to be used. He was never one for guns but this was the only way he could protect people. That was what he wanted most in the world - to help people. Right now, it was his best friend who needed him and he wasn't going to let her down. But he should have known better than to listen to Sarahi and cut off the phone service. He could be calling his colleagues right about now but the reality was he couldn't have any of their help.

Eventually, he made a round throughout the entire second floor without finding a trace of Sarahi anywhere. He stopped and leaned on the rail, deeply sighing. What could he do now?

"John?" he heard Minerva's soft voice from downstairs. He quickly straightened up and turned to look below.

"Minerva, I told you to stay inside," he frowned.

"I don't follow orders from anyone," Minerva corrected, "Where is Sarahi?"

"I don't know," John shook his head.

"I was taking to Paul and he said the cloak person wanted Sarahi because she took something from him."

"Took something?" John came down the staircase, sharply looking at her, "As in stole?" Minerva nodded, "That's impossible. Sarahi would never take something that wasn't hers."

Minerva scoffed, surprising John, "You would be surprised to what measures Sarahi can go to."

"Why do you say that?" John raised an eyebrow, "I know Sarahi."

"And so do I," Minerva gestured to herself, "Believe me, thus little thing going on here isn't the first time that someone's claims Sarahi stole something from them."

"Sarahi never told me anything about this."

Minerva rolled her eyes, "Well, it's not something easy to tell someone. When you steal something you maintain it a secret, duh."

John sighed, "Alright, well, for now just return to the room okay? I'm gonna take another look. There's been no sign of cars leaving meaning they're still here. Go."

Minerva mischievously smiled and put an arm around his neck, "Will I be a suspect too?"

John cleared his throat, the idea of being flirted with when he was practically no the job wasn't something he was used to. But he still felt the lingering sensation of her lips on hers, her hands on his hair...and he couldn't think of it ever stopping. The feeling was overpowering and he sincerely wished he could control it.

"Well?" Minerva asked again, her lips brushing over his, "What are you thinking about?"

John blinked and stepped back, "U-um, Sarahi…"

"Oh," Minerva frowned, "That's not something you want to hear when you make out with a guy."

"No, not like that!" John exclaimed, "I'm on duty right now. I have to find Sarahi."

Minerva nodded but once again inched closer to him, "Alright, but later on perhaps we could do this again," she gave him a small, yet equally filled with passion as the last time, "What do you think?"

John shakily smiled afterwards, "I would like that."

Minerva let him go and watched him head into the hallway across. She bit her nail nervously and looked around. She decided to take matters into her own hands and find Sarahi. She started going up the stairs and was one midway when she began hearing muffled cries of someone. Minerva froze and let the sounds grow closer. Soon enough, the man in a the black cloak emerged from the upstairs hallway, holding Sarahi forcibly with a gag over her mouth.

"Who are you?" demanded Minerva, remaining where she was.

"None of your business. Leave now and you can still retains your life," the man warned.

"Yeah, I just finished telling a cop he doesn't order me," Minerva crossed her arms, "You're not different. How about you let Sarahi go and I let you walk out without being caught?"

"Sarahi stays with me until she clears her debt with me," the man held Sarahi tighter.

Minerva laughed then, startling the man, "She's not giving you back anything, trust me," her eyes narrowed down at Sarahi, "She's a thief with no conscience."

The man noticed the different attitude suddenly given towards Sarahi and became intrigued, especially since Sarahi seemed to know just what Minerva meant. The brunette was crying even more and shaking her head.

"You still remember, don't you, Sarahi?" Minerva came up the remainder of stairs, "How your parents stole everything from mine? Or, how _you_ _helped_ them take it?" she went towards the two, never afraid of the man, "You stole from me and you didn't even feel bad after our parents died. You gave me miserable scraps of something that belonged to me," she took the gag out of Sarahi's mouth, "Look at you now, Sarah? You're getting what you deserve...and it's not even by me."

The man slowly pulled down the hood of his cloak to reveal a bright blonde underneath. His brown eyes stared intently at the two cousins, bemused by what he heard.

Minerva stepped back, "What did she take from you exactly?" she asked him.

"Sarahi and I were business partners and she scammed me out of a million," the man explained, glaring at Sarahi, "She thought she could get away with it and live on happily ever after," Minerva narrowed her eyes at him, searching for something she could use against him, "But I'm a cunning man. I know how to take things back without being caught. Now Sarahi and I are going to take a little trip into the city where she'll deposit what she stole and if anyone says anything about me then they'll surely die."

"Sounds interesting," Minerva said off handedly and before he knew it he was kicked back, "But I think I'll pass," Minerva hurried up to him and stole a gun tucked underneath the cloak. She stood up and aimed it at him, "Your plan is lovely but it's clashing with mine. Like I said before, get out and you can still keep your freedom," but the man seemed to have other plans. He jumped up to his feet and tried snatching the gun but Minerva fired beside him, essentially freezing him for a second, "GET OUT!" she man laughed and lunged for them again but Minerva fired and got him in the arm.

Sarahi grabbed Minerva's arm and ran towards the stairs, "We have to go!"

"I'm not finished!" the man growled and however he could pushed Minerva to the side and yanked Sarahi back.

Minerva landed harshly on the floor, ripping the lower hem of her dress in the process. The gun was out of reach midway down the stairs.

"STOP!" they heard John shout from downstairs, "Everyone stay inside!" he ordered the guests inside the main room. He held a gun at the man holding Sarahi, unable to fire due to the danger of injuring Sarahi instead.

"I'm not stopping anytime soon and you can't fire without risking the life of your friend," the man laughed wickedly.

Minerva took of her heels and promptly chucked them at the man, forcing him to let go of Sarahi as they hit him on the side of his head. The man turned to Minerva, about to lunge for her when Sarahi took action and grabbed him behind.

"Sarahi! Let go!" John frantically shouted as he saw them nearing the edge of the staircase.

He started running towards them but the worst happened in seconds. Sarahi heel stepped over the edge and fell back. She toppled over the staircase and came to a halt at the center of the first floor, unconscious or dead who knew. John wasted no time in firing at the man above as he tried reaching for Minerva again.

Minerva scrambled to get up and leaned on the rail to see the happenings, "No!" Sarahi laid on the floor, the side of her head oozing with blood.

John hurried to see the condition of Sarahi. He leaned down and put two fingers on Sarahi's neck. The results nearly stopped his heart, his eyes wide with horror.

Sarahi was dead.

~ 0 ~

The following morning had been filled with bombarding policemen, forensics and the media. After finally going into town and explaining the ordeal at the mansion, John finally got his help and brought them back. The entire guests and employees had been questioned about the man in the cloak and of Sarahi's apparent robbery. The man, now identified as Carlos Azuela, was pronounced dead as had Sarahi.

John made sure every guest was out of the house and sent the employees to rest at home until further notice. He decided to leave his colleagues for a minute to go see how Minerva was doing. She had been questioned first and was released to her guest room to rest. John hadn't talked to her since last night and he needed to see if she was okay, at least in what fit.

Without thinking he opened the door to her room, "Minerva?"

Minerva was standing in front of a vanity desk, having been looking at something on her hand when she was startled by the sudden presence, "John!" she turned to him.

John noticed the strange reaction and, unfortunately, became suspicious. He quietly closed the door and looked at her, "What is that?" he nodded to whatever she held behind.

"Um…" Minerva looked around, "...just something. Did you need anything? Are they all gone now? I could really use a nap," she tugged her pink sleeping robe tighter. She has changed for a good sleep but with everything that happened it became nearly impossible.

"Minerva, what are you holding?" John asked one more time but Minerva remained silent. With a sigh, he reached behind her and forcibly pulled her hands in front. He found Sarahi's pink ring on her finger, the very same one he himself had put away in a safe he was sure Minerva didn't know about.

Minerva remained at ease, seeing no point in even attempting to lie, "Ask if you'd like."

John raised an eyebrow, "I...I don't understand. I put this away…" he tapped the ruby.

"I followed you," Minerva said as if it were obvious.

"But…?" and then John remembered.

* * *

 _John was just coming down the stairs when Minerva rushed out of the first floor hallway._

 _"John," she seemed surprised to find him._

 _"Minerva, hey," John came down the rest of the stairs and went to meet her in front of the hallway threshold, "What are you doing here?"_

 _"Uh, trying to find the bathroom," Minerva sheepishly smiled, "This house is like a maze. Plus without the lights on it's way more difficult."_

* * *

John blinked, "You followed me from the other staircase…" he realized.

Minerva nodded, playing with her ring as if it were the most interesting thing in the room, "Yes, I did."

"But, but why?"

Minerva looked up angrily, "Because this is _my_ ring!" she held her hand up, "This precise ring belonged to my mother. Everything in my parent's possession was passed on - no, _stolen_ \- by Sarahi and her parents. This ring," she wiggled her fingers, "was one my mother used to wear when I was a child. She was such an idiot to think I wouldn't remember."

"I d-don't, I don't understand this," John grabbed his head and backed away, "You claim Sarahi stole-"

"No, no, I don't 'claim', I _accuse_ Sarahi of taking part in the big scam her family did to steal my parents' possessions."

"That's impossible," John lowered his hands from his head, "Sarahi would never do anything like that."

Minerva scoffed and went to her bed where Sarahi's laptop resided at, "You clearly didn't know your best friend as much as you thought you did," she turned the laptop around for him to see the screen, "Your best friend took part in many scams, including the one that Carlos Azuela claimed. Sarahi was a fine, noble woman to the media but to anyone who did business with her she showed her real face. Look at it," she urged him to come closer, "Look for yourself and see everything she took from people. She stole from her family, John. She stole from me."

John walked over and took a look as she ordered. As he scrolled down the pages he saw Minerva was telling the truth. Sarahi was a scammer. She was a thief.

Minerva shut the laptop and crossed her arms, "With everyone she wronged I'm surprised it took this long for someone to take revenge. Though, a real smart person would've never made that catastrophe like Carlos."

That sentence left John thinking for a couple minutes. Every thing started rushing back in his mind, simple things that seemed insignificant at the time.

"You wanted to kill her…" he realized, feeling dumbfounded.

"Kill, injure, I didn't really care as long as she confessed to what she did and returned what was mine," Minerva shrugged, "Unfortunately someone else beat me to it."

"When we were dancing…"

* * *

 _Minerva looked around, "So, are any of your cop friends here?"_

 _"Uh, no, no they're not," John shook his head, "I'm on my own."_

 _Minerva wrapped her arms tighter, using it to bring each other closer, "Flying solo, then?"_

 _"Well, this is Sarahi's party. She's ordered no cops around except me," John explained._

* * *

"You weren't asking questions, you were _assessing_ the environment where your crime would take place," John was flabbergasted as he kept realizing how he missed everything.

* * *

 _Minerva raised an eyebrow, "Is that the only thing she ordered? Because last time I remembered she was uptight and unnecessarily extreme."_

 _John chuckled, "Well, she does have a habit of going over the top. To say, she had all service cut off for the party so the media wouldn't find us."_

 _"That sounds a lot like her," Minerva made a face, "No cellphone service just to keep hidden?"_

 _"Sarahi," John said as if it were the answer to it all._

* * *

"I had to know what I was facing," Minerva said in her defense, "That's why I had Paul to talk with Sarahi. We needed to be sure."

"Minerva, are you hearing yourself!? You were going to kill your own cousin!"

"Key word being 'going to'," Minerva pointed, "I didn't do anything. In fact, if I do remember correctly, I saved her. I fought for her."

"It doesn't take away what you were going to do," John shook his head, now sadly looking at her, "You lied to me. You made me think there was actually something between us-"

"What? No, no, none of that was fake," Minerva interrupted him firmly, "I admit, I did lie and make you give me information but those kisses we shared, our dance...that was real. And I meant what I said too," she went around the bed to meet him face to face, "Do I have a chance?"

"Minerva, I...I have to tell the authorities…" John shakily informed, seeing the stiffening ginger, "...you were going to murder someone."

"Fine," Minerva raised her hands, clearly not attempting to make a case for her, "You can do that, but then you'd be sending a woman who did nothing. You have the power to do that," she walked past him to the small couch in front of a window where sat down, "but you also have the passion to override what you think."

John turned around, "Minerva, what you did was wrong."

"I'm well aware. But what Sarahi did was no better."

"If you had just come to the authorities and gave them all the evidence-"

"I didn't have any," Minerva snapped, "Sarahi was a longtime scammer. She knew very well how to hide it all. Why do you think Carlos did what he did? Because Sarahi erased her tracks. It would be my word against her and a will."

"Minerva," John went over to her, bending down in front of her, "I like you, I really, really, like you," he took one of her hands and gripped it tightly, "but you didn't do a good thing here. You were about to break a law."

"But I didn't," Minerva enunciated slowly for him, "I didn't do anything. Paul was supposed to turn off the lights and I was supposed to take Sarahi out where I would get her to confess. But none of it happened. Carlos did it. I didn't get to do anything that would break the law."

"I don't know what to do," John sighed, bowing his head.

Minerva leaned closer and lifted his gaze up with a hand, "You can turn me in for something I didn't do. You have that power. But remember what you feel for me," she put her hand over her heart, "That passion you feel, it won't ever happen with anyone else. I know it won't. I felt it when you kissed me. Didn't you?"

John stood up and backed away, "I don't…"

Minerva remained sitting down, no longer going to move, "Choose passion and you get me, and possibly a happy life. Choose power and you turn in a woman that didn't do anything and I swear to you if I get out you will never see me again. It's your choice. I won't beg you to stay, I won't beg you not to turn me in. You choose: passion or power?"

John held her stare with an indescribable expression. After minutes of silence, he turned and walked out.

Minerva deeply sighed and leaned back on the couch, anxiously going to wait for his choice.

~ 0 ~

Twenty minutes later, the door to Minerva's bedroom opened up again. Minerva watched from her spot as John returned and shut the door...with lock. She had to admit she was a bit nervous to see what he chose to do.

"So?" she asked calmly.

John slowly turned to her, "I am nearly 30 years old and I've dated my fair share of women but none of them have ever made me feel what you do."

Knowing what that meant, Minerva rose to her feet, "And…?"

John released a breath before charging for her, "And I never want to lose that."

Minerva was pinned against one of the poles of the bed, "You chose me," she smiled as his hands settled on her hips.

John started kissing her with the same kind of energy as last night, "I've sent everyone away," he said in between their kisses.

"Why'd you lock the door, then?" Minerva managed to ask in one sentence without being interrupted.

"Because you're not leaving this room today," John promptly responded with as he yanked her pink robe off revealing a white night gown underneath.

Minerva giggled as they felled onto the bed, "No one orders me around, haven't you heard?" she gasped when she felt a bite on her neck.

"Tonight you do," were the last words John said on that matter.

Everything after that was filled with the sweet passion both had craved since last night. Neither was going to ever lose the feeling ever again.


	9. A Monsoon Christmas

**Author's Note:** (After a very long time of nothing around here I"ve finally got some new one-shots! This one is set right after Deep Breath so now we have the 12th Doctor with Minerva (who now looks like Kristin Davis).

* * *

Liv watched in fair amusement as Clara made rounds and rounds through the dozens of clothing racks in Minerva's Monsoon wardrobe room. Clara was amazed of how many actual _royal_ gowns Minerva owned but practically never worse - or at least Clara never _saw_ Minerva wear them. This was, after all, Clara's first time on the Silver Monsoon. Everything was so strange...and snowy!

"Is that her crown!?" Clara gasped when she saw a royal silver, bejeweled crown sitting on a pedestal over a red velvet pillow. Clara laughed. "Talk about being fancy! I never took Minerva for the type. Does the Doctor have one too? And Elias?"

But before Liv answered, the door opened and in came Minerva.

"He does but he refuses to wear it," she answered Clara's question. "And Elias is too small for his."

Clara, giddly, turned to Minerva. "Are you going to wear it?"

Minerva smiled in return. "I have to, actually, because we are going to a very special event."

"We?" Clara blinked, pointing at herself.

"Yes," Minerva nodded. "You, Liv, me, the Doctor and Elias. Who else?"

Clara's eyes drifted to the window, and slowly she inched closer to it. "I get to go out there?" she jerked a thumb in the direction of the window.

"Mhm. And you get a wardrobe change. Specifically for your human necessities. It's cold out there so I long had my girls create special clothing for our human friends."

"But this is the first time I come here, how could you have my size?" Clara's smile was still on her face but turned confused.

"I don't," Minerva clarified. "But you look around my friend Stacey's size. And if not we can always make alterations. Don't worry, you'll get your own clothing set soon. I have them working on it already."

Clara's smile regressed back into a mixture of giddiness and flush. "I get a wardrobe too?"

Liv burst into laughter. "Oh this never gets old! I have seen you do the same to Amy, Rory, Stacey - Oh my God!"

"Shut up!" Clara snapped at her friend.

"Let's get you ready, then," Minerva cut in before the two women bickered.

~ 0 ~

After being fitted into a furry light pink outfit consisting of pink pants and a white blouse, almost covered by an open woolly white coat, Clara was deemed ready to go out to the kingdom where apparently her surprise awaited.

"How come the Doctor doesn't have to wear all this?" Clara had trouble getting into the carriage that was meant to bring them into the kingdom. It was incredibly warm, thankfully, but just a bit bigger than her. "Nor Elias?" her eyes drifted momentarily to see the toddler in question wearing a warm blue sweater but nowhere near as woolly as hers.

"Because I don't need it," the Doctor said after practically stuffing her inside the carriage. "I'm a Time Lord. My body is built for it."

"Elias, being half and half, and still a _child_ , needs a little more warmth but not that much," Minerva then added.

"Ha, ha," Elias smirked at Clara once he was inside the carriage, sitting on his father's lap. Clara mockingly glared in return.

Liv popped in beside Clara, sitting cross-legged and mildly curious of what laid outside. She hadn't bothered appearing there because she wanted to feel the surprise as much as Clara would.

"Is Mayar going to meet us there or is he still finding ways of blaming me for your latest change?" the Doctor playfully asked Minerva once the carriage had begun to move.

Minerva rolled her eyes. "Ha, ha. He's glad you're okay, by the way. He also says nice gray hair."

It was the Doctor's turn to roll his eyes. "I won't be hearing the end of that, will I?"

"Well, this is the first time my grandfather's seen you in a body that's more...mature," Minerva settled for, but Clara laughed.

"What a nice way to say you got old!" went the brunette.

"What are you laughing at miss 'I'm about to hit the thirties also known as the mid-life crisis human period'?" the Doctor responded, shutting Clara right up.

"You're more rude," Liv noted, although fairly entertained.

"That's bound to cause some problems later on," Minerva mused and kissed the Doctor's cheek. "But I'll be there to make sure you don't completely lose it. Luckily, this appearance change is only that...an _appearance_ change and nothing else."

"So, am I going to get some clues on this surprise or what?" Clara struggled to sit forwards in her wooly coat. "You said I would be the first human to see it."

Minerva stood by her words with a nod. "Yes. So feel special."

"I do," Clara admitted, flushed. "But c'mon, what is it?"

"It's a project I've been working on for a long time now. I thought it would be a nice thing to introduce to my people."

"Introduce? So...so this is the first everyone in your kingdom will hear about it too?"

"Exactly."

"I imagine, however, that their attention will first be drawn to the fact that their Queen has once again changed," the Doctor commented with bits of a smirk playing on his lips.

"Yes, that...should be interesting," Minerva made a face for a moment. They had already made the message that the Royal Family had undergone regeneration and Monsoon Linkage incidents but it was one thing to hear about and another thing to _see_ it.

"I thought you said your people could change too," Clara said, tilting her head as she thought back just to confirm.

"Most can, yeah," Minerva agreed. "But it doesn't stop it from being quite a phenomenon."

"Hmm," Clara leaned back and glanced at the small window on their side. She wasn't able to see much but snow covered buildings and several people walking by. Although now that she paid more attention she was able to notice that there were many decorative lights hanging from one street pole to the next. They were really pretty, all various colors and some flickering in and out.

When the carriage stopped, Minerva informed Clara that they had stopped in the middle of the kingdom. Although Clara asked 'why' Minerva did not answer. The carriage driver helped Minerva out first and then helped the Doctor by taking Elias for a moment. In the end, both the carriage driver and the Doctor had to help Clara out.

"Okay, this is too much!" Clara huffed and started pulling on the big, woolly coat. "I don't know who this Stacey is but she is _not_ my size!" And she chucked the coat back into the carriage, loudly sighing when she turned to view ahead.

She froze.

"Pretty isn't it?" Liv gazed at the beautiful town center decorations.

"Very...Dr. Seuss…" Clara realized what she said and shook her head. "Didn't think those would be my first words about this place." She laughed, though, because when she looked again it was all indeed very Dr. Seuss.

The center of the kingdom was in the form of a circular plaza with peculiar (for the Moontsays) object placed right at the center over a red, decorative carpet: one tall, green Christmas tree. It was covered in crystal spheres of different colors - and some Clara was sure were human made you'd find at the local stores - along with the traditional color lights. The lights, however, were not yet turned on. Clara assumed it was all going to turn on when the missing star was placed at the top of the tree.

"Kissmas time!" Elias cheered, laughing excitedly. Clara tore her eyes from the tree to see the toddler running (or wobbling) his way towards a vendor's stall full of what Clara assumed were the Moontsays' version of desserts. Behind Elias went one of the guards of the toddler to look over him.

Clara laughed and continued to study the new foreign place she was so grateful to finally be in. People were pale in comparison to humans, and they had silver markings on various parts of their bodies. Other than that, they appeared humanoid. Many children were watching young teenagers do little tricks with their powers. Clara learned that most Moontsay children usually start showing their powers in early adolescent years. It was obvious since she saw several of the teenagers suddenly lose the pretty little snowflake they had floating in the air. And those that weren't entertained with the snowflake tricks were entertained by the white horses giving them rides around the plaza.

Her eyes were drawn upwards where the street poles lining the plaze was covered in those pretty lights that flickered on and off. Now that she got a better look she noted that some of the lights had snowflakes hanging off them.

"How does not electrify people?" she asked.

"We're Moontsays, Clara," Minerva walked over to the brunette. "We have our different version of electricity."

"But they're not melting with the heat…"

"In this weather, nothing melts," Minerva pointed up to the gray sky. "Aren't you cold?"

"No," Clara shook her head, still dazzled by all she saw.

"Okay, but if you do, please let one of the guards know so they can get it for you."

"What...they can follow my orders?" Clara blinked, even pointing at herself just to be sure they were talking about the same person.

Minerva laughed. "Well of course. You're our friend, Clara, and honorary guest for tonight."

"O-okay," Clara swallowed hard and suddenly realized there was a little stage set up beside the Christmas tree.

And so, after much of the kingdom had gathered in the plaza, Clara found herself standing in the stage with Minerva, the Doctor, holding Elias who was busy sucking on a blue stick that resembled a candy cane, Minerva's grandfather Mayar, and their closest advisor/military leader Zohar.

Minerva was getting ready to address the crowd as she moved forwards. "Now I know many of you have been wondering what the crazy Queen has been doing lately-" much of the crowd laughed, "-and I'm so proud to say it's finally finished. You really have no idea how long I've been waiting to finally get this project finished. You all know that I spent a lot of time in my previous incarnation as a human, and thus I picked up on a couple of traditions that I never really wanted to forget. My favorite one was Christmas. You spend this holiday with your family, your friends, and you really just bask in what you have with you. Each time I spent Christmas I ended up doing it with my Doctor…" she glanced back at the man in question, both sharing a smile, "...and although they were bumpy holidays, I loved them. These humans have gone out and created holidays like this based on myths, beliefs of warmth and love. I thought that while our culture is pretty different that we could introduce this to our generations. When I started this project, it was during a time of loss…" Minerva paused, thinking to their previous companions the Ponds, "...and it motivated me even more because this would mean that I got to celebrate what I _did_ have. And I want that for our people too. I want Christmas to become a part of us. There can be carolers, sweets, love, and a little present here and there never hurt anyone. Today marks the beginning of this new holiday, and I would like for the first human to see it...be the one to inaugurate it."

Clara nearly fell over after that. With wide eyes, she met Minerva and did her best to avoid all the eyes on the crowd that were now staring at _her_.

Minerva smiled warmly at her. "It's only fair, Clara. Your people started this tradition and now that it's going to happen here...you should start it off." She clapped her hands and immediately a guard came up the stage holding a large, white snowflake. "Thank you so much," she said to the guard after taking the snowflake. "And so-" she looked back to the crowd, "-it is my pleasure to have Clara Oswald place the first Christmas tree Snowflake on our very first Christmas tree."

"I think I'm going to faint…" Clara said very quietly when people started cheering her on. However, seeing the Doctor hiding small laughs indicated to her that he had heard her just fine. She discreetly hit him on the arm then went up to Minerva. "Wh-what do I do?" she whispered to the Queen.

Minerva pointed at the ladder waiting by the tree. "Just stick it on like any tree star."

"I can't believe you're doing this," Clara said, seeming mortified with all the attention.

"Welcome to Monsoon," Minerva smirked and sent Clara on her way.

Clara slowly walked up to the ladder and, despite her struggles, she manage to climb up with the snowflake in hand. _Don't you dare fall, Clara. Don't you dare._ She took a big breath after reaching the top. From the corner of her eye she could see the crowd intently staring at her, waiting for her to start the holiday.

 _Please don't mess up._ She sucked another breath and cautiously leaned forwards to slid the Snowflake's tube into the tree's slot. As soon as she did, the Christmas tree lit up! The crowd cheered instantaneously.

Clara looked down and saw all the purely happy faces of the people. Little by little, she started to laugh happily.

Below, Minerva was ecstatic to see her people truly enjoying the gift she worked hard on.

"Congratulations, darling," the Doctor kissed her cheek. Elias leaned forwards, clearly intending on doing the same as his father.

Minerva chuckled after receiving his sloppy kiss on her cheek. "Thank you. And Merry Christmas. And cheers for many more."


End file.
